DENVER 鈥 One of the most iconic images in Colorado Rockies history is Nolan Arenado鈥檚 euphoric scream as blood leaks from his brow after hitting a walk-off home run to complete his cycle in a Father鈥檚 Day victory. The moment doesn鈥檛 happen without Charlie Blackmon, who got on base ahead of Arenado and whose batting helmet cut his teammate during the celebration.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the one who made that picture cool,鈥 Arenado said, smiling.
A few hours earlier, at Coors Field, Arenado attended the news conference Tuesday when Blackmon, the Rockies鈥 longtime leadoff hitter, announced his retirement after 14 seasons, four All-Star games and two Silver Slugger awards 鈥 all of them with the Rockies.
Now the Cardinals鈥 third baseman, Arenado grew close as a teammate and friend in Colorado鈥檚 lineup and over meals with the left-handed-hitting Blackmon, who he figures he drove him more often than almost anyone else.
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鈥淔or me, the best leadoff hitter I鈥檝e ever gotten to play with,鈥 said Arenado, who had 760 RBIs with the Rockies. Blackmon was 142 of them. 鈥淣owadays the game is so different. If a lefty is starting, you rarely see a lefty lead off the game. Now, you鈥檙e going to put a righty there. You鈥檙e going to match up. Every team is doing it.
鈥淥n our team, Charlie was hitting leadoff every game. Could be (Clayton) Kershaw pitching. It didn鈥檛 matter who was throwing. He鈥檚 going to hit leadoff for us. Charlie always set the tone. He did damage. He was clutch.鈥
Through the course of this season, rookie right-handed hitter Masyn Winn has emerged as the Cardinals鈥 leadoff hitter, making his 98th start there Tuesday.
Lower in the lineup, however, three young left-handed batters in Tuesday鈥檚 lineup are experiencing that modern game Arenado described while trying to learn and prove they can be the fixture left-handed hitters Blackmon and his peers, like Matt Carpenter, were every day.
鈥淭here is a balance,鈥 Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. 鈥淚 feel like our lefties have gotten a decent amount of left on left. But you also have other guys on the team for specific situations 鈥 to take those at-bats in meaningful spots where it could flip a game.鈥
Entering Tuesday鈥檚 game, Brendan Donovan, one of those young left-handed batters, leads the Cardinals in appearances against lefties. His 189 plate appearances ranked seventh in the National League for a left-handed hitter against lefty pitching, and he鈥檚 responded with a .259 average and .317 on-base percentage. Alec Burleson and Lars Nootbaar, the other two young left-handed bats, rank fifth and eighth in plate appearances against lefties on the Cardinals. Burleson has struggled to a .195 average, and Nootbaar has a .340 on-base percentage but a .367 slugging percentage vs. lefties.
The Cardinals鈥 lefty-heavy lineup and struggles against lefties earlier in the season prompted them to trade for Tommy Pham in July and try to spur offense with matchups.
鈥淭he game is way more platoon than it was back then,鈥 Carpenter said of the years, almost a decade ago, when he and Blackmon led the league鈥檚 leadoff hitters. 鈥淚 think Charlie and me did a good job of that, but it鈥檚 harder now to even be looked at a guy who can do it. Now you鈥檝e got to force it. The left-handed matchups (with relievers) are tougher than ever.鈥
Blackmon, Carpenter and Mookie Betts were part of a group of a players who turned the OBP-hungry spot of leadoff into another OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) spot in the order.
Since 1995, eight of the top 11 single-season slugging percentages by a leadoff hitter have been since 2017. That season, Blackmon had a .602 slugging percentage, fifth-highest for a leadoff hitter since 1995, and a .999 OPS for the Rockies. Among the things Shohei Ohtani is obliterating this season, add leadoff-hitter slugging. At .671, his will be tops since at least 1947, surpassing Betts鈥 .644 slugging at the leadoff spot in 2018.
Marmol was asked about what Blackmon and Carpenter brought to the leadoff spot ahead of the thunder rolling from Los Angeles, and he brought up the matchup.
鈥淭hey could take their knocks when needed,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淭hey could hit homers when needed. Gap-to-gap doubles. And the thing is, you look at Charlie, left on left, there鈥檚 not this crazy advantage. Fairly neutral dude. Low punch-out. There鈥檚 no real, hey, bring in the lefty against him and maybe you can get him on the ground. He鈥檚 got a lot of different ways of beating you.鈥
And he was in the lineup to accumulate the experience to do so.
In several moments, the Cardinals have given their young lefties just that.
鈥淭here are times when you let them take it, let them experience it, and some teams have that luxury of letting those at-bats take place regardless of situation for the pure sake of development,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淚t depends on what you鈥檙e willing to give up. They could run a left on left every day and see how it plays out. Other teams can鈥檛.鈥
Scott returns; Baker on paternity list
Cardinals opening day center fielder Victor Scott II rejoined the team Tuesday for at least the three-game series at Coors Field. He took the roster spot of designated hitter Luken Baker, who was placed on paternity leave to attend the birth of his child.
Scott returned to Class AAA Memphis earlier this month to finish out the Redbirds鈥 season while working on some of the defensive and base running drills introduced to him at the major league level. In 13 games this month for Memphis, Scott hit .100 (3 for 30) with 12 strikeouts. Scott won one of three Gold Glove Awards given to minor league outfielders for all levels last season, and the Cardinals expect to use him in late-game situations to improve the defense and cover Coors鈥 expansive range.
Players can spend up to three days on the paternity list.
Mathews earns BA pitcher of the year honor
A shoo-in to win the organization鈥檚 pitcher of the year award, Quinn Mathews turned a four-level, 200-strikeout dominant summer into the first year-end honor from Baseball America for a Cardinals prospect since Rick Ankiel in 1999.
Baseball America named Mathews its pitcher of the year for 2024 on Tuesday. He is the third player to receive the honor since it began.
Ankiel was the magazine鈥檚 player of the year in 1999.
Mathews, 23, rocketed from Low-A Palm Beach to Class AAA Memphis in his first season of professional baseball. The Cardinals鈥 fourth-round pick in 2023, struck out 202 batters to become only the second pitcher in the minors at any level and with any club to reach 200 strikeouts since 2011. Arizona鈥檚 Brandon Pfaadt did in 2022, and Mathews is the first lefty since Matt Moore in 2011.
Mathews is the Cardinals鈥 10th minor league pitcher with a 200-strikeout season and the first since Ankiel in 1998.
This summer, the lefty started at least four games at four different levels and never more than nine. He won four pitcher of the week honors at three different levels, and he had seven starts with at least 11 strikeouts. They came at three different levels. Quinn went 8-5 with a 2.76 ERA in 143鈪 total innings over 26 starts, four of which were this month with Memphis.
鈥淗e has an inner confidence,鈥 farm director Gary LaRocque told a Post-Dispatch reporter for Baseball America鈥檚 story on Mathews. 鈥淨uinn has also got that vision, and he鈥檚 running with it. What鈥檚 left? He鈥檚 got to compete for that ultimate level. He will come to spring training with one thing in mind: 鈥業 want to compete for the only level left.鈥欌