Birds on the Bat | MLB 23

[James]

Cardinals fall to Tigers in 12 innings
Highlight Game: 9/16/2025 - Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

@

DET | 4 | 10 | 0
STL | 3 | 9 | 0
W: Ray Francisco (2-0)
L: Genesis Cabrera (4-1)
S: Jason Foley (1)



Detroit Tigers
Adalberto Mondesi: 2-5, RBI, R
Jim Ortiz: 1-3, 2 BB
Eric Haase: 1-3, RBI
Termarr Johnson: 2-6, RBI

Matt Manning: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 K
Wilmer Flores: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Ray Francisco: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB
Jason Foley: 0.2 IP, 1 BB, 2 K

St. Louis Cardinals
Bill Fuentes: 3-4, R
Lars Nootbaar: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI
Tommy Edman: 0-5, R
Brendan Donovan: 1-4, RBI

Zack Thompson: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Jimmy Nelson: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 K
Jordan Hicks: 1.0 IP
A.J. Minter: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER
Ryan Hesley: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Genesis Cabrera: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 K
Jake Woodford: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB

--

@

DET | 1 | 5 | 2
STL | 2 | 6 | 0
W: Clayton Kershaw (14-5)
L: Jackson Jobe (9-10)
S: Ryan Helsley (27)

Jackson Jobe (DET): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Clayton Kershaw (STL): 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K

DET HR: None
STL HR: None
--

@

CIN | 3 | 7 | 0
STL | 9 | 13 | 0
W: Miles Mikolas (10-13)
L: Graham Ashcraft (8-12)

Graham Ashcraft (CIN): 0.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB
Miles Mikolas (STL): 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB 3 K

CIN HR: Jack McCarthy, Jeremy De La Rosa
STL HR: Dylan Carlson, Nolan Arenado 2, Brendan Donovan
--

@

CIN | 1 | 6 | 0
STL | 2 | 8 | 0
W: Cooper Hjerpe (1-1)
L: Simeon Woods Richardson (7-14)
S: Ryan Helsley (28)

Simeon Wood Richardson (CIN): 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Jack Flaherty (STL): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

CIN HR: Tyler Stephenson
STL HR: Bill Fuentes
--

@

CIN | 6 | 6 | 0
STL | 7 | 14 | 1
W: Chris Sale (13-12)
L: Hunter Green (7-18)
S: Ryan Helsley (29)

Hunter Greene (CIN): 1.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Chris Sale (STL): 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 K

CIN HR: Ryan McMahon
STL HR: Tommy Edman
--

@

STL | 9 | 10 | 1
MIN | 1 | 8 | 1
W: Cooper Hjerpe (2-1)
L: Pablo Lopez (15-10)

Zack Thompson (STL): 0.1 IP
Pablo Lopez (MIN): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

STL HR: Nolan Arenado, Tyler O'Neill, Tommy Edman, Willson Contreras, Paul Goldschmidt
MIN HR: None
--

Cardinals Current Record
88-70, 0.5 GB NL Central, 2nd Wildcard Spot

Injury Report
None

Upcoming Schedule
at Minnesota Twins (89-69)
at Milwaukee Brewers (68-89)
at Milwaukee Brewers (68-89)
at Milwaukee Brewers (68-89)

[Agent]

Hit a big win streak after losing in the 12th inning. Tough loss to lose in extra innings.

[Soapy]

The Cubs shaking their boots, don't blow it

[James]

Hit a big win streak after losing in the 12th inning. Tough loss to lose in extra innings.

Yeah, I'm hoping that we can keep the streak going and chase down the Cubs and win the division

The Cubs shaking their boots, don't blow it

Working on it!

[James]

Cardinals hold off Twins for important victory
Highlight Game: 9/24/2025 - Target Field, Minneapolis, MN

@

STL | 6 | 13 | 0
MIN | 4 | 9 | 1
W: Clayton Kershaw (15-5)
L: Jeffrey Springs (7-13)
S: Ryan Helsley (30)



St. Louis Cardinals
Nolan Arenado: 3-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
Tyler O'Neill: 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
Tommy Edman: 3-4, 2B
Lars Nootbaar: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI

Clayton Kershaw: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 K
Jimmy Nelson: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Alex Reyes: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER
Ryan Helsley: 0.2 IP, 2 K

Minnesota Twins
Byron Buxton: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Ramon Laureano: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
Jose Manuel: 2-4, 2B
Jorge Polanco: 1-4

Jeffrey Springs: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 K
Jordan Balazovic: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 K
Kyle Nelson: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Griffin Jax: 1.0 IP, 1 H
Jorge Alcala: 1.0 IP, 2 K

--

@

STL | 5 | 9 | 0
MIL | 12 | 16 | 0
W: Ethan Small (7-6)
L: Miles Mikolas (10-14)

Miles Mikolas (STL): 3.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Ethan Small (MIL): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

STL HR: Nolan Arenado
MIL HR: Teoscar Hernandez, Rowdy Tellez, Jake Rogers, Tyler Black
--

@

STL | 8 | 9 | 0
MIL | 4 | 10 | 0
W: Jack Flaherty (12-5)
L: Yosver Zulueta (6-8)
S: Ryan Helsley (31)

Jack Flaherty (STL): 8.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 K
Yosver Zulueta (MIL): 1.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

STL HR: Bill Fuentes, Tyler O'Neill
MIL HR: Sal Frelick, Teoscar Hernandez, Rowdy Tellez
--

@

STL | 6 | 9 | 0
MIL | 1 | 8 | 1
W: Chris Sale (14-12)
L: Nathan Eovaldi (5-19)

Chris Sale (STL): 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Nathan Eovaldi (MIL): 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

STL HR: Nolan Arenado, Bill Fuentes, Paul Goldschmidt
MIL HR: None
--

Cardinals Current Record
91-71

Injury Report
None

Upcoming Schedule
2025 PLAYOFFS!

[Soapy]

The Fish are back in October

[Agent]

Nootbaar for Finals MVP. Calling it now.

[James]

The Fish are back in October

Yessir. I'm cooking up an article about it but it was a very dramatic final day in the NL

Nootbaar for Finals MVP. Calling it now.

I'm not even sure I'll make it that far. Bill Fuentes is the dark horse this year. Guy has been turning it on.

[James]

Cardinals Clinch NL Central: Dramatic Final Day Secures Playoff Bye

Going into the final day of 2025, the St. Louis Cardinals knew they were going to make the playoffs, but their seeding was still up for grabs. More importantly, the NL Central division crown was also on the line.

The Cardinals entered the last day with a one-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. They were also one game behind the Miami Marlins for the #2 seed in the National League. In their final game, 2025 signing Chris Sale took the mound against the Milwaukee Brewers and pitched a gem, striking out six batters and giving up only four hits over seven innings. Home runs by Nolan Arenado, Bill Fuentes, and Paul Goldschmidt carried the Cardinals to victory.

The Chicago Cubs won their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they needed a Cardinals loss to force a tiebreaker situation. Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins faced their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves, in their quest for the playoffs after four long years. The game was tight, and a Danny Jansen home run in the bottom of the 9th gave Atlanta the victory. This resulted in the Marlins and the Cardinals finishing with identical records of 91-71.

In a strange twist of fate, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head results. The teams only played one series this season, with an early-season series going 3-1 in favor of the Cardinals. This allowed the Cardinals to clinch a bye in the first round after having to play in the Wild Card round last season.

This Cardinals team has shown significant weaknesses compared to the past two teams that won the World Series. However, when playoff time comes around, strange things can happen in October. Keep an eye on the Cardinals—despite their issues this season, they might just find themselves back in the World Series before too long.

[James]

Cardinals Hitting Stats, End of Season
1. Bill Fuentes: .266/.308/.446, 11 HR, 37 RBI
2. Nolan Arenado: .276/.357/.537, 39 HR, 104 RBI
3. Tommy Edman: .270/.310/.433, 17 RBI, 68 RBI
4. Tyler O'Neill: .279/.341/.550, 32 HR, 85 RBI
5. Lars Nootbaar: .263/.347/.395, 10 HR, 46 RBI
6. Dylan Carlson: .247/.326/.412, 17 HR, 58 RBI
7. Brendan Donovan: .270/.339/.369, 10 HR, 55 RBI
8. Willson Contreras: .233/.315/.393, 15 HR, 43 RBI
9. Paul Goldschmidt: .231/.299/.364, 14 HR, 56 RBI
Jordan Walker: .211/.254/.406, 12 HR, 37 RBI
Nolan Gorman: .214/.276/.421, 17 HR, 40 RBI
Mike Antico: .215/.262/.305, 2 HR, 21 RBI
Ivan Herrera: .182/.272/.240, 1 HR, 13 RBI

Cardinals Pitching Stats, End of Season
1. Jack Flaherty: 12-5, 2.98 ERA, 196 K
2. Chris Sale: 14-12, 3.59 ERA, 185 K
3. Zack Thompson: 12-8, 3.42 ERA, 107 K
4. Clayton Kershaw: 15-5, 2.92 ERA, 140 K
5. Miles Mikolas: 10-14, 4.22 ERA, 123 K
Dakota Hudson: 3-9, 4.80 ERA, 1 SV, 84 K
Cooper Hjerpe: 2-1, 2.70 ERA, 3 K
Genesis Cabrera: 4-1, 2.68 ERA, 34 K
Alex Reyes: 3-1, 4.16 ERA, 77 K
Jimmy Nelson: 5-0, 1.79 ERA, 1 SV, 54 K
A.J. Minter: 1-2, 2.50 ERA, 3 SV, 49 K
Jordan Hicks: 2-4, 3.60 ERA, 17 SV, 56 K
Ryan Helsley: 1-3, 2.55 ERA, 31 SV, 47 K