The St. Louis Cardinals have scored at least eight runs on 14 or more hits in three consecutive games.
As relieved St. Louis Cardinals fans probably know, the club’s bats continued their long-awaited awakening when facing Cincinnati Reds pitching on Monday and Tuesday nights at Busch Stadium.
Against the visitors from the Queen City, the Cardinals scored 12 and eight runs on 16 and 14 hits, respectively. The two higher totals, registered in game 1 of the series, are season-to-date bests for St. Louis. They also plated nine runs on 14 hits in Chicago on Sunday.
The big question is whether or not it will continue on Wednesday against Reds rookie Sam LeCure and a Cincinnati bullpen that is ranked 14th of 16 National League teams with an aggregate 4.99 ERA.
Since at least 1952, the Cardinals have had only 11 runs of 14 or more hits in three or more consecutive games, including the current streak. Exactly 31 years ago, on June 2, 1979, the club had their fourth straight such game, the record during this time.
Consecutive games with 14 or more hits, St. Louis Cardinals, 1952-present
| Start | End | Games | W | L | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | Opp |
| 5/30/1979 | 6/2/1979 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 157 | 36 | 65 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 34 | NYM,LAD |
| 5/30/2010 | 6/1/2010 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 114 | 29 | 45 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 29 | CHC,CIN |
| 4/27/2003 | 4/30/2003 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 151 | 33 | 55 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 33 | FLA,NYM |
| 9/1/1996 | 9/3/1996 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 120 | 35 | 50 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 33 | COL,HOU |
| 9/19/1992 | 9/20/1992 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 128 | 32 | 50 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 32 | CHC |
| 8/19/1989 | 8/22/1989 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 120 | 23 | 44 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 21 | CIN,ATL |
| 9/11/1974 | 9/13/1974 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 184 | 23 | 48 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 16 | NYM,PHI |
| 9/3/1971 | 9/5/1971 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 114 | 23 | 48 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 22 | CHC |
| 5/30/1970 | 6/2/1970 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 120 | 24 | 44 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 24 | LAD,SFG |
| 9/28/1965 | 9/30/1965 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 124 | 36 | 47 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 34 | SFG,HOU |
| 7/20/1963 | 7/23/1963 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 115 | 22 | 47 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 22 | HOU,MLN |
In terms of run scoring, the three consecutive games scoring eight runs or more is one off the team high since 1952 of four, achieved nine times, most recently in 2007.
Consecutive games with 8 or more runs, St. Louis Cardinals, 1952-present
| Start | End | Games | W | L | R | H | HR | RBI | Opp |
| 8/122007 | 8/16/2007 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 59 | 7 | 38 | LAD,MIL |
| 6/3/2003 | 6/6/2003 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 52 | 3 | 37 | TOR,BAL |
| 9/17/2002 | 9/20/2002 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 57 | 14 | 37 | COL,HOU |
| 9/18/2001 | 9/21/2001 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 44 | 3 | 33 | MIL,PIT |
| 4/8/2000 | 4/11/2000 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 53 | 14 | 39 | MIL,HOU |
| 6/27/1994 | 7/1/1994 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 51 | 10 | 35 | NYM,COL |
| 5/5/1980 | 5/9/1980 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 60 | 4 | 46 | SFG,LAD |
| 4/16/1962 | 4/21/1962 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 55 | 8 | 39 | PHI,NYM,CHC |
| 5/15/1959 | 5/20/1959 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 50 | 7 | 34 | PHI,PIT |
| 5/30/2010 | 6/1/2010 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 45 | 6 | 29 | CHC,CIN |
| 5/10/2005 | 5/12/2005 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 46 | 3 | 24 | LAD |
| 6/17/2003 | 6/19/2003 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 40 | 5 | 27 | MIL |
| 8/11/2002 | 8/13/2002 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 47 | 4 | 28 | NYM,PIT |
| 6/15/2001 | 6/17/2001 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 35 | 6 | 24 | CHW |
| 4/6/2001 | 4/8/2001 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 42 | 6 | 29 | ARI |
| 9/11/2000 | 9/13/2000 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 41 | 4 | 27 | PIT |
| 7/9/2000 | 7/14/2000 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 35 | 9 | 29 | SFG,CHW |
| 9/15/1999 | 9/18/1999 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 44 | 8 | 30 | MIL,HOU |
| 9/1/1996 | 9/3/1996 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 50 | 2 | 33 | COL,HOU |
| 9/11/1995 | 9/13/1995 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 39 | 4 | 30 | SFG |
| 6/29/1993 | 7/1/1993 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 42 | 4 | 30 | PHI |
| 5/31/1979 | 6/2/1979 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 50 | 7 | 28 | NYM,LAD |
| 8/25/1978 | 8/27/1978 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 41 | 5 | 32 | ATL |
| 4/7/1977 | 4/10/1977 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 38 | 4 | 24 | PIT |
| 6/11/1973 | 6/13/1973 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 40 | 5 | 28 | CIN |
| 9/2/1967 | 9/4/1967 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 37 | 4 | 28 | HOU,PIT |
| 4/14/1967 | 4/16/1967 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 42 | 5 | 30 | LAD,HOU |
| 9/28/1965 | 9/30/1965 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 47 | 3 | 34 | SFG,HOU |
| 8/16/1963 | 8/19/1963 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 42 | 4 | 28 | SFG |
| 6/7/1962 | 6/9/1962 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 45 | 5 | 22 | CIN,SFG |
| 7/17/1961 | 7/18/1961 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 46 | 3 | 25 | CHC |
| 5/9/1959 | 5/10/1959 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 42 | 7 | 26 | CHC |
| 8/5/1958 | 8/7/1958 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 46 | 2 | 29 | LAD,SFG |
| 9/15/1957 | 9/17/1957 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 36 | 4 | 28 | PIT,BRO |
| 6/17/1953 | 6/19/1953 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 39 | 4 | 30 | BRO,PIT |
Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for providing the data tables shown above.
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Yeah, I’m definitely encouraged.
I picture Tom Orf this pasty looking guy locked in Brian’s closet, living by the green glow of monochrome monitors and surrounded by stacks of whirring 80286′s. Frustrated by the dial up which is all he gets. How does he do it day after day? I’ll tip one back for you, Tom.
http://www.globe-democrat.com/news/2010/jun/02/rains-nothing-about-playing-baseball-should-be-lif/
Rob ‘s article, in which he seems to support forcing pitchers to wear a helmet when pitching, caused me to wonder whether a pitcher who chose to wear one for his own protection would be allowed to or not. Anyone know?
“The St. Louis Cardinals have scored at least eight runs on 14 or more hits in three consecutive games”
That’s really saying something, especially considering the fact that we have a lightweight Matt Holliday who is impotent to knock-in RISP and able only to tap-out measly singles… Our lack of a genuine clean-up notwithstanding, our guys are looking more like themselves!
Cards signing Carlos Matias, Dominican free agent righty for $1.5M is encouraging. Several other teams were after him, so it shows agressiveness in the international FA market. I don’t know anything about him except he throws 99 MPH.
bb, subscribers to The Cardinal Nation learned about the Matias signing last weekend. Today, as they wrote about it for the first time, neither BA nor the Post-Dispatch pointed out who broke the story. BA has additional info on $ and repertoire, but they didn’t have the story first.
Here is the link to the BA article for those interested.
On the home front, I am under the impression that we are after Matt Harvey (a rhp), from North Carolina and purportedly “the best arm in college baseball”.
cf, not to be cynical, just realistic. When is the last time the draft experts were right about the player the Cards took first? Pre-draft analysis seems a lot of effort for being wrong most of the time. Maybe that is just me…
Brian: I have a penchant for Pollyanna expectations, with a desperate need for the influence of those who are realistic and cynical (like you); which explains one of the reasons that I am a member of the Cardinal Nation Blog…
K Griffey Jr retires.
Now, tip your hats to Tony! Ya gotta love him!
Schumaker needs to stop his ridiculous batting glove ritual before every pitch: He needs to know that the superstitious crap will not get him above the Mendoza line.
Were it not for Albert’s uncontested theft, Matt would have grounded into a double play…
As it was, there was already two gone…
Jr. one of the best for many years. Nice career. Great father-son combo. Its painful seeing a great player struggle at the end.
No, I’m not on drugs… I got so excited about the prospect of an unprecedented third perfect game, in the unscheduled ESPN shift, that I became disoriented about our own game!
57……..back off the Schumaker gloves rant…………..that’s my personnel gripe…………. hate it. I won’t have anything left to say.
The last thing I want to do is to steal your thunder, WCBW… Are you also on top of Yadier’s necklace gem kissing?
To his credit, when I pointed out the omission in the Matias story, Derrick Goold updated his post.
Galarraga certainly deserves an asterisk upon his “one-hitter”. Henceforth, that umpire will live in infamy!
You know, that is a golden catchers glove his father gave him……….. I can live with that now. If I had thought he was going into a religious trance every pitch, that’s not so good.
Skip is starting to play a role………….not Hr skip
Vintage Matt Holliday! With two on base and an RISP, was there any doubt?
The whole point in showing a strong (closed) stance that Holiday uses, is that you can just step open and crunch the inside……………he never does……………Every team in the league will bait or walk Albert to get to a guy who is going to give you only singles. That has to be broken up.
This kid is making a few pitches………..but if we only went after center cut, he would fall apart. We are a team of individuals.
Brendan strikes again! He ascends past .200 in a spectacular way… Attaboy!
By the way, after 4 complete innings, that “kid” has a pitch count of 67 (21 more than Chris)…
Nice of Derrick. How about BA?
The last time I saw an outfield flub like that I was watching 10 year olds.
Yea Yadi’s momento from his dad is different 57. The gloves thing I’m with you on.
blingboy and WCBW: Thanking you for the explanation of that momento, I’m hearing both of you loud and clear.
Lets see a team approach for an inning.
Was Bruce spectacular or was Schumaker too hungry?
Schu thinks he really is a leadoff guy.
Maturity is defined as the ability to reconcile one’s attributes with one’s limitations…
Same scenario……….. Rasmus goes down trying to uppercut something. He worked the count, but would not take the two runs…….playing for three. He seems insulated from reason. He warms up……plays his initiatives down hill on a bunch of location speculations…and the does it all over again Two games up……… Two weeks down…………..
With Chris pitching so superbly, how meaningful is Gomes’ flub (Brendan’s “triple”)?
Carp’s at 73 pitches, so with luck we may not see the pen. Frankie went two innings yesterday.
Nice bloop by Luddy. Looks like a screamer in the box score.
Hey, whatever works! The insurance runs are nice.
57, I’d say its just nice to even things up a little in the outfield flub depatment. Been a little lopsided.
LeCure had an Ottavino kind of night. Here’s hoping that Chris stays in: Tony must surely be aware of the fact that he gets stronger during the late innings.
Well, it looks like the pitch count is running up a bit. Wonder how many Tony will let him throw.
It looks like tonight will be an exception… damn it! I think that I spoke too soon…
We may have to sacrifice another run in order for Chris to induce his legendary double-play grounder.
How ’bout that? Now, we need not worry about sacrificing that run…
Chris is the King of Scrappers!
Phew. That’s why Carpenter is one of the best.
Carp is gased………… I don’t like us in this game unless we score again. Motte will try to pitch 2 innings.
That might do it………for 120 mill.
Hey! A signature home run: There weren’t any RISP!
Here’s hoping that it was not a fluke, but a sign of breaking-out and finally becoming the clean-up of our expectations!
When you think about it 57, a clean up hitter should be in scoring position in the batters box
How profoundly and resoundingly true!
It wasn’t a great swing 57……… He was out in front but it was a clunker and he held on….. Carp is gassed but it looks like he will go out and battle……….. hate to see it. He looks tired at 104.
Aye, WCBW; true! But that particular clunker required strength…
He is a specimen.
An 8 pitch inning! Will Chris stay in for just one more?
Brendan has responded well to getting benched. Just when everyone pretty much expected him to do nothing, like early last year.
Why do I shudder every time that we go to the Bullpen?
Tragic at bat by Ludwick………………going for the base hit instead of the Sac. What was he even thinking. K-mac is wrong……I’d rather see Motte.
It was all about the King of Scrappers! I feel great about taking this particular series!
Definitely a nice finish. Tied for first in the division again!
Reds roll over. That’s the most important factor.
Colby opened his stance 2 or 3 inches. Experimented with stepping across to cover the outside. That won’t work with his current hand position. Its a tiny bit lower but still to close to his body.
Opposite field fly’s and roll over ground balls are the symptom, as they have been all year……..
The Duke of Scrappers is Mitey Miles. I feel better just knowing Aaron is on our bench, ready for use at a moment’s notice.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/8951D23E76D22474862577370008C070?OpenDocument
Colby missed some chances with RISP last night. Can’t get them all.
Albert’s 2 SBs and the Matt-Albert double steel was something.
Congrats to Albert catching Hornsby in total bases. Still almost 3000 behind Stan. Wow. That will take some doing.
Colby would miss more RBI chances if his talents were being wasted at AAA. Happily, his father came up with a constructive suggestion.
Jumbo, I’m surprised you didn’t explain how it was all coincidence that Colby had his big day at the plate when Big Mac was out of town for a few days.
And Brad Thompson was DFAed. Mo went for Miles. Just sayin.