The St. Louis Cardinals offense is showing signs of life for the first time this season, with a quartet of 14-hit games.
In the midst of a push to reach .500 for the time this season, the 6-7 St. Loius Cardinals improved to 4-3 during their current 10-game West Coast road trip after knocking off the Los Angeles Dodgers by a 9-5 score on Thursday night.
For the fourth straight night, the Cardinals had at least 14 hits and scored at least eight runs. Researcher Tom Orf pulled the following tables, which indicate how rarely this type of proficient hit attack has occurred in recent years and over the long haul.
This is only the second time since 1933 that the Cardinals have strung together four games with 14+ hits. The other was in 1979. Amazingly, nine of the top such streaks occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s.
St. Louis Cardinals, 14+ hits in consecutive games (1920-present)
| G | Tm | Start | End | W | L | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SO | BB | SB | CS | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | Opponent |
| 6 | STL | 8/31/1930 | 9/7/1930 | 6 | 0 | 234 | 57 | 100 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 54 | 20 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .427 | .457 | .603 | 1.060 | CHC,PIT,CIN |
| 6 | STL | 9/9/1922 | 9/15/1922 | 4 | 2 | 233 | 62 | 92 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 56 | 21 | 20 | 8 | 8 | .395 | .447 | .588 | 1.035 | CIN,PHI |
| 5 | STL | 7/11/1923 | 7/16/1923 | 4 | 1 | 209 | 54 | 88 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 43 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 1 | .421 | .462 | .536 | .998 | BSN,PHI |
| 5 | STL | 6/27/1922 | 7/1/1922 | 4 | 1 | 207 | 40 | 75 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 39 | 19 | 17 | 1 | 2 | .362 | .410 | .517 | .927 | CIN,PIT |
| 4 | STL | 4/11/2011 | 4/14/2011+ | 3 | 1 | 168 | 40 | 63 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 38 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 0 | .375 | .411 | .637 | 1.048 | ARI,LAD |
| 4 | STL | 5/30/1979 | 6/2/1979 | 4 | 0 | 157 | 36 | 65 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 34 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 1 | .414 | .453 | .675 | 1.129 | NYM,LAD |
| 4 | STL | 6/19/1933 | 6/22/1933 | 2 | 2 | 164 | 30 | 61 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 29 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | .372 | .408 | .555 | .963 | BRO,PHI |
| 4 | STL | 8/21/1930 | 8/24/1930 | 4 | 0 | 144 | 44 | 62 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 6 | 17 | 2 | 0 | .431 | .491 | .604 | 1.095 | PHI |
| 4 | STL | 6/22/1930 | 6/24/1930 | 3 | 1 | 159 | 41 | 67 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 40 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 0 | .421 | .465 | .679 | 1.144 | PHI,BSN |
| 4 | STL | 7/28/1928 | 7/31/1928 | 3 | 1 | 197 | 44 | 75 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 43 | 6 | 25 | 3 | 0 | .381 | .455 | .579 | 1.034 | PHI |
| 4 | STL | 5/8/1923 | 5/11/1923 | 3 | 1 | 167 | 41 | 70 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 3 | .419 | .455 | .677 | 1.132 | PHI |
The Cardinals are the 23rd team to do this across all of MLB since 1960. The Minnesota Twins had a five-game stretch last season, but no clubs had even four in 2009.
The record over the last 50 years is seven such games, logged by the Atlanta Braves in late July of 1993. Joe Torre’s Cardinals, on their way to a third-place finish, were among their victims.
MLB, 14+ hits in consecutive games (1960-present)
| G | Tm | Start | End | W | L | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SO | BB | SB | CS | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | Opponent |
| 7 | ATL | 7/21/1993 | 7/27/1993 | 6 | 1 | 284 | 73 | 113 | 17 | 2 | 19 | 68 | 36 | 26 | 4 | 1 | .398 | .447 | .673 | 1.120 | STL,PIT,COL |
| 5 | MIN | 7/24/2010 | 7/28/2010 | 5 | 0 | 209 | 53 | 86 | 18 | 3 | 10 | 52 | 32 | 22 | 3 | 3 | .411 | .466 | .670 | 1.136 | BAL,KCR |
| 5 | ATL | 7/25/2003 | 7/29/2003 | 3 | 2 | 212 | 49 | 84 | 20 | 1 | 11 | 46 | 21 | 14 | 4 | 1 | .396 | .444 | .656 | 1.100 | MON,HOU |
| 5 | OAK | 8/22/2002 | 8/26/2002 | 5 | 0 | 197 | 46 | 70 | 19 | 3 | 7 | 46 | 20 | 197 | 2 | 1 | .355 | .416 | .589 | 1.004 | CLE,DET,KCR |
| 5 | LAD | 8/9/1970 | 8/14/1970 | 5 | 0 | 203 | 49 | 84 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 43 | 24 | 20 | 7 | 4 | .414 | .464 | .576 | 1.041 | CIN,PIT,CHC |
| 4 | STL | 4/11/2011 | 4/14/2011+ | 3 | 1 | 168 | 40 | 63 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 38 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 0 | .375 | .411 | .637 | 1.048 | ARI,LAD |
| 4 | NYM | 7/5/2008 | 7/8/2008 | 4 | 0 | 165 | 30 | 59 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 1 | .358 | .404 | .509 | .914 | PHI,SFG |
| 4 | FLA | 9/7/2005 | 9/10/2005 | 3 | 1 | 163 | 32 | 60 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 24 | 16 | 10 | 0 | .368 | .435 | .485 | .919 | WSN,PHI |
| 4 | SEA | 8/3/2002 | 8/7/2002 | 2 | 2 | 162 | 37 | 60 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 36 | 29 | 17 | 5 | 1 | .370 | .429 | .593 | 1.022 | CLE,TOR |
| 4 | DET | 8/14/2000 | 8/18/2000 | 4 | 0 | 169 | 46 | 68 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 45 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 0 | .402 | .452 | .657 | 1.108 | SEA,OAK |
| 4 | SFG | 6/22/2000 | 6/25/2000 | 3 | 1 | 164 | 37 | 65 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 37 | 24 | 24 | 2 | 1 | .396 | .471 | .652 | 1.123 | STL,HOU |
| 4 | ARI | 5/30/1999 | 6/2/1999 | 3 | 1 | 169 | 41 | 65 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 30 | 14 | 4 | 0 | .385 | .435 | .657 | 1.092 | NYM,MON |
| 4 | COL | 9/6/1998 | 9/9/1998 | 4 | 0 | 156 | 47 | 68 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 42 | 20 | 23 | 2 | 1 | .436 | .508 | .641 | 1.149 | SDP,FLA |
| 4 | NYM | 5/24/1998 | 5/29/1998 | 4 | 0 | 157 | 37 | 61 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 35 | 24 | 18 | 0 | 1 | .389 | .449 | .580 | 1.029 | MIL,FLA,PHI |
| 4 | COL | 7/23/1996 | 7/25/1996 | 3 | 1 | 160 | 36 | 67 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 34 | 21 | 21 | 5 | 3 | .419 | .486 | .656 | 1.143 | NYM,CHC |
| 4 | COL | 6/27/1996 | 6/30/1996 | 3 | 1 | 166 | 52 | 69 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 50 | 31 | 22 | 10 | 0 | .416 | .481 | .699 | 1.180 | LAD |
| 4 | BOS | 9/27/1995 | 9/30/1995 | 3 | 1 | 160 | 36 | 62 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 35 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 1 | .388 | .436 | .644 | 1.080 | DET,MIL |
| 4 | SDP | 6/27/1994 | 6/29/1994 | 2 | 2 | 165 | 37 | 62 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 32 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 1 | .376 | .450 | .618 | 1.068 | COL |
| 4 | NYM | 6/12/1990 | 6/15/1990 | 4 | 0 | 168 | 50 | 71 | 23 | 1 | 7 | 49 | 19 | 24 | 1 | 1 | .423 | .495 | .696 | 1.191 | CHC,PIT |
| 4 | STL | 5/30/1979 | 6/2/1979 | 4 | 0 | 157 | 36 | 65 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 34 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 1 | .414 | .453 | .675 | 1.129 | NYM,LAD |
| 4 | PIT | 5/3/1967 | 5/6/1967 | 4 | 0 | 168 | 28 | 58 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 27 | 18 | 1 | 0 | .345 | .419 | .405 | .824 | LAD,SFG |
| 4 | PIT | 5/22/1965 | 5/25/1965 | 4 | 0 | 159 | 32 | 57 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 13 | 18 | 1 | 4 | .358 | .427 | .484 | .911 | MLN,CHC |
| 4 | CLE | 6/8/1962 | 6/10/1962 | 3 | 1 | 189 | 41 | 67 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 39 | 39 | 17 | 3 | 0 | .354 | .407 | .593 | .999 | BOS |
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This team has a history of streaky offense. Case in point, right after ASB last year, 7 wins in a row, then nothing. They will have to sustain this offensive burst for more than a couple of series to convince me.
I’ll post this for all of you hitting analyst/guru’s to discuss. IT’s basically Jack Clark talking hitting (using Jeter as a discussion tool).
http://itsaboutthemoney.net/archives/2011/04/15/jack-clark-talks-about-derek-jeter%E2%80%99s-hitting-struggles/
Now this is man talk……….. many nice observations……..many truths……….many…many conditional fallacies…………… Berkman just hit 2 OPO hrs……setting up a third pull home run……..by swinging into the “null” space……in the direction of the “catcher and umpire”………. the third by not…..the forth…in between………………… one man “personal” organization of swing keys and related imagry, is not invalid. However, it is what it is. Pujols has invented a completely new approach……its minimalism has won him “time” to react and evaluate longer than anyone ever has…………..look what he’s doing with the time he’s won for himself………… his swing and/or personal situational aspirations are revealed in his ineptitude………… man on third with one out……and he rolls it to the 3rd baseman……… no one dare says a word in the dugout………….. what he is about, is being revealed, especially to his teammates…. I hope it ends well.
jack is awesome, it doesn’t even matter if he makes any sense.
It does make sense though BB…….he is very knowledgeable. It is reduced to “folk remedies” at present though…………….. If you wanted to teach a kid…….he would be a good one…….. if you wanted to solve problems like Jeter and Pujols have……..thats not the way forward. Albert and Derek’s approach are almost direct opposites……….and yet it comes down to swing impulse and pitch recognition. Derek has alway thought that he could work with a pitch he knew was coming……and did………Albert’s ego is so vulnerable now………he no longer trusts himself to leave his formula behind and just react…….. he is in real trouble right now………. he will break down before he gets over it. Garland likes to work fast….watch him freeze AP in his stance for as long as Albert will tolerate it……….everyone is stressing him right now……..its a sophisticated competition on the pitching level.
Garland shouldn’t be sharp tonight……….lets hope his teammates are still “distracted”.
Lance is showing me what it’s like to be at peace with ones station in life. The glory days in the rearview mirror. Not able to have his way with pitchers anymore, taking what he can when they aren’t paying attention. My opinion, Albert’s not doing anything wrong when he gets in his hitting funks. It’s just that every day isn;t a good day like in the past. He will have to start transitioning to survive, but it would cost him a lot of money if he does it now. He doesn’t need anybody to tell him what he needs to do, he knows. The plan is to feast on the good days untill payday.
Its much more complicated than that in some ways BB. AP thinks he is to deliver some of his largess to the poor people of the Dominican R………….by the decree of God……… BD disagrees………. the market is being secured at this point…………if the Red Sox finish 3rd or worse in 2011..8 games back…… Gonzales might just be playing here……………..That is what the peculiarities in his contract are about. He knows why a no trade was never considered……….. It would appear that AP AG PF will all go under the 200 million dollar ceiling…………….. Consider only this……there is stipulation in his contract that prevents him from being traded to 2 teams……..and it has a no flip clause that prevents that from being circumvented……………….. At 150million………… who is even in play…….and what would someones motivation be to take a player that is so against playing for you…………….. unless, he and his agent are just guarding against market fixing and owners collusions……………..why should he even care? He obviously has suspicions……….. he wants to settle down and be marketed and he likes Boston it seems…………….. As was said recently on 60 minutes……..AP is the face of baseball now………..there is a collusion……….if its just about numbers and AP stays here…….thats fine……any collusion grievance is fast disappearing into the abyss for AP………. as WC predicted ……. I say he is being herded to a specific team…….at a specific price…….but hey…….nothing I say ever comes to pass.
To bad they can’t just que up some Bob Marley and have fun playing a kid’s game for a living.
WestCoast, are you concretely saying or predicting Albert will be a Saux come next April? In a sign and trade?
I really don’t know T8……………. it could be a simple price fixing scheme……….. there’s along way to go……………I’m really lucky because I don’t care. AP hit 2 dongs tonight….one on a tee… the other just bait 4 inches out of the top of the Zone……..center cut………. the 3/0 “green light” swing and going out of the zone to pop up in the first makes me want to puke…………. Berkman might of had 2 on if he just takes the walk………..
Another dong, Lance is eating his Wheaties. Albert’s picture is on the box.
Deja vu the top of the fourth. Now the defense is looking weak
Mo is looking like a genius giving Lance $7.5
Yeah,lucky
Mo is a bright boy.
The Cardinals have surpassed the 14 hit mark for the fifth consecutive game now…
was pulling for Skip to get in on the action, but I thought it was a bigger success he stayed away from that shoe laces strikeout for the walk.
Also, Colby Rasmus is ONLY a doubles hitter!!!!!!! lol, loving how he’s owning the 2 spot in the order. Really sets the table. He had a good April last year, let’s hope it extends into May this time.
Pretty thrilled to watch a stretch like this, 6 runs or more in 6 straight games? Wow.
When healthy, Berkman has long been a great hitter. One way he helps is by taking pressure off Kid Rasmus, one of the few lefty swingers. Rasmus can move up in the lineup, letting All Star Berkman handle the RBI job. Though Berkman cannot defend RF like Ludwick, he is a much better hitter than Luddy.
Though TLR takes spring training seriously, Berkman and Garcia are showing how unimportant spring stats are.
Shelby Miller has had a very impressive beginning to 2011. His early strikeout rate is remarkable.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=571946