ST. LOUIS -- No at-bat better epitomized the Cardinals¡¯ plate approach and successful stubbornness more than the one catcher Pedro Pag¨¦s took in the bottom of the fourth inning as his squad was throttling All-Star left-hander Framber Valdez and the Astros on Monday night.
Pag¨¦s¡¯ gritty at-bat -- and several from Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado and others -- added Valdez to the impressive list of All-Star starting pitchers whom the Cardinals have worn down and worn out over the past week.
Having twice missed the Valdez curveball that he came up looking for and facing an 0-2 count, Pag¨¦s asked for timeout for a brief pep talk to himself. His inner dialogue set the stage for him laying off the next two pitches before getting the big looping curveball he wanted.
¡°I called timeout, and I was like, ¡®OK, let¡¯s be stubborn and look up [in the zone], look up,¡¯¡± said Pag¨¦s, who hit the fifth pitch of the at-bat for a double down the left-field line that plated two and set the stage for the Cardinals¡¯ 8-3 victory at Busch Stadium. ¡°I ended up getting the pitch I wanted, and I put a good swing on it.¡±
Even after lauding Donovan¡¯s four-hit night and the confidence oozing out of Arenado and his three-hit performance that included his second home run of the season, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol had an admission regarding Pag¨¦s¡¯ fourth-inning knock that opened the floodgates.
¡°That was one of my favorite at-bats,¡± Marmol said. ¡°Knowing how he wanted to beat [Valdez] and then sticking to it. ¡ I mean, with Valdez, that¡¯s a tough pitcher. And to be more stubborn than him is important. Our guys did a good job with that, but that was a big at-bat by Pag¨¦s. There wasn¡¯t a lot of breathing room in that lineup today.¡±
Valdez was just the latest All-Star pitcher to feel the wrath of a Cardinals offense that came into Monday first in MLB in on-base percentage, second in batting average, third in runs per game and OPS, and fifth in slugging percentage. After beating the Astros, the Cardinals¡¯ new-look offense has toppled All-Star pitchers Paul Skenes, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Valdez in the past week.
Led by the third four-hit night of Donovan¡¯s career, the Cardinals didn¡¯t just beat Valdez -- they knocked him around and knocked him out of the game before a batter was retired in the fifth inning. The Cards tagged Valdez -- an American League All-Star pitcher in 2022 and ¡¯23 ¨C for 10 hits and seven runs (six earned) in just four-plus innings.
¡°The group deserves a lot of credit because we¡¯re approaching every day the same and we¡¯re not too concerned about who¡¯s on the mound,¡± said Arenado, who added two doubles and drove in two. ¡°We respect them, but we know if we get pitches over the plate, try not to chase and try not to expand, we like our chances.¡±
Donovan extended his hitting streak to 10 games - MLB¡¯s longest active streak -- with three singles and a fifth-inning RBI double. During the hit streak, Donovan is 20-for-39 (.513) with six extra-base hits. The defensive ace and gritty hitter leads all MLB with 25 hits, and his .391 batting average is second.
¡°Just the way he¡¯s taking his at-bats, he¡¯s going down the way he wants to go down,¡± Marmol said. ¡°There are times when you¡¯re going to get beat, but he¡¯s getting beat his way. That¡¯s leading to a lot more hits, him using the whole field and him taking his shots pull-side when he needs to.
¡°He¡¯s just a smart hitter who is locked in. He is as stubborn as they get, in a good way, in terms of, ¡®I¡¯m going to stick to this and it¡¯s working.¡¯¡±
What is also working is the mix that the Cardinals have used at catcher. Coming into Monday, injured starter Iv¨¢n Herrera, reserve Yohel Pozo and Pag¨¦s have helped the Cardinals lead all MLB catching combos in hits (22), home runs (six), doubles (seven), extra-base hits (13), total bases (47), batting average (.349), slugging percentage (.746) and OPS (1.134). Pag¨¦s¡¯ two-run double on Monday only enhanced those numbers.
¡°We talked about it today [among the catchers], and we said, ¡®That¡¯s awesome, but we care more about the wins,¡¯¡± Pag¨¦s said. ¡°It¡¯s just about doing whatever we can to help the team win, and we¡¯re going to keep doing that.¡±