For a day, the St. Louis Cardinals' future met the present.
Many years in the future, Cardinals fans might look back on May 20, 2018, with a historic smile. The Cardinals didn't just win 5-1 and earn a split with the pesky Philadelphia Phillies; they showed opponents and fans a glimpse of the future. A bright, burning future that carries more wicked than some fans seem to think.
There were the arms belonging to Jack Flaherty and Jordan Hicks.
There was the bat of Tyler O'Neill.
There was the future right there.
Here are five takeaways from a Cardinal win that gave them a record of 25-19.
5) Greg Garcia doesn't get a lot of attention, and there's a reason for that. The man best left in the shadows comes off the bench and does whatever Mike Matheny asks of him. He will pinch-hit, play any position, and be the guy who you miss in a box score. Sunday, Garcia made a bigger dent. After Jedd Gyorko made a couple errors on Saturday, Garcia manned the position and played very well. He turned a lovely double play in the ninth and added a couple RBIs at the plate. Not bad for a guy no one talks about.
4) Jordan Hicks isn't perfect, but wow he is fun to watch. Hicks doesn't strike a lot of people out, but he gets results. The young fireballer throws incredibly fast. For example, he threw five consecutive pitches, according to Derrick Goold and Statcast, at 103 mph or faster in the ninth inning today. A glimpse of the future perhaps. If Bud Norris doesn't hold up or breaks down and Greg Holland never gets to where he needs to be, Hicks may end up being the Cardinals door slammer. Who knows? He puts guys on base and heightens the drama a bit, but results always seem to occur. Good ones.
3) Tyler O'Neill, ladies and gentlemen. When I wrote that O'Neill should start for Marcell Ozuna in left, I was told to calm down about a kid who just hit a home run, a blast that doubled for a laser beam. For the better portion of the first 40+ games, the Cardinals lacked a cleanup producer. Historically, Ozuna produced there, but not much this year. O'Neill gathered three hits Sunday in the spot, including a game-sealing two-run homer. The kid has legit power and the Majors have no idea, so keep playing him until his bat tells you not to.
2) Matt Carpenter had another three-hit day. It marked the first time since May of 2016 that Carpenter put together a pair of three-hit days in a week. He is 10 for 20 in his last five games since being moved to the seventh spot in the order to re-calibrate his hitting approach. Maybe the balls are just falling and the luck is returning. Either way, Carpenter is looking good.
1) Flaherty has the chance to be something great. I'm not talking Luke Weaver solidness; Flaherty makes you think Cy Young when you see his stuff. What Michael Wacha was doing before his scapula injury re-routed his career prospectus. Flaherty has better stuff than Wacha though and showed it off today. He threw 120 pitches and struck out 13 batters, including Odubel Herrera. He gave up a solo home run in the fourth inning, but only allowed the Phillies one other hit. He was dominant in a way that other teams go back and study later on to understand what, exactly, hit them. No matter what, Flaherty shouldn't leave the rotation for the duration of the season.
The Cardinals were able to sweep their minds of the torment that had befallen their club in the past two weeks. When you think about the fact that this team completed a sweep of the Cubs two weeks ago and struggled since, you get the idea that this team is fighting back against supreme adversity. Injuries, and under-performance have stricken their first quarter of games, their bats freezing most of the time. Maybe the lineup is coming around.
Over the past week, the Cardinals have scored five-or-more runs in three games. Slow thaw, perhaps.
This much is known. The Kansas City Royals come into town this week. Greg Holland's former team. The embattled reliever will face them, especially with Hicks' heavy workload over the weekend. Let's hope the guy snaps out of it and doesn't blow up another game. He'll have the ball at some point. Maybe another Cardinal can turn it around before the team leaves for Pittsburgh on Thursday.
You never know. That's why they play the games.
Thanks for reading,
DLB