ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NEWS

Alec Burleson - Pops fourth homer Burleson went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Guardians.

Impact Burleson got the Cardinals on the board with the first of their three homers in the fifth inning, which was his first homer since April 27. He's hit safely in five of his last six games, going 6-for-19 (.316) over that span. The outfielder has earned a strong-side platoon role in left field while Dylan Carlson (ankle) and Tyler O'Neill (back) are out. Burleson has hit .240 with a .694 OPS, four long balls, 14 RBI, 16 runs scored, six doubles and a triple through 137 plate appearances.

MAY 29, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Tyler O'Neill - Rehab 'at a standstill' Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that the organization is "at a standstill" with O'Neill's (back) recovery, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Impact O'Neill has had to be shut down on three different occasions due to continued lower-back pain. He tried hitting off a tee about a week ago but has halted activities since then because his back didn't respond. The outfielder should be considered out indefinitely as he and the Cards determine the next course of action.

MAY 29, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Paul Goldschmidt - Homers in Sunday's loss Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Guardians.

Impact This was Goldschmidt's third multi-hit effort in five games after a span in which he went just 1-for-21 over seven contests. Slumps tend not to last too long for the first baseman, but it's good to see him looking like himself again after a rough week. For the season, he's slashing .294/.400/.525 with 10 homers, 26 RBI, 37 runs scored, seven stolen bases and 17 doubles.

MAY 29, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Ryan Helsley - Blows save Sunday Helsley (3-4) blew the save and took the loss Sunday against the Guardians, allowing two runs on one hit and two walks over two-thirds of an inning. He didn't record a strikeout.

Impact Helsley pitched 1.1 scoreless innings Saturday en route to a win and was called upon Sunday to secure the save, as Giovanny Gallegos was likely unavailable after appearing five times over the past nine days. Helsley struggled with the top of Cleveland's order and blew his first save since April 25. The right-hander already has four blown saves this season, which ties his mark from last year. Despite the poor outing, Helsley has been strong in May, posting a 2.77 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 16:6 K:BB over 11 appearances (13.0 innings).

MAY 29, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Jordan Montgomery - Gives up two runs in no-decision Montgomery did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk over five innings during a 4-3 loss to Cleveland. He struck out three.

Impact Montgomery has allowed multiple runs in each of his last five starts and sports a 6.04 ERA during that stretch. However, Sunday's outing was a step in the right direction, as he didn't allow a home run for the first time since April 29. Overall, the left-hander has been consistent this year, but his numbers are marred by a pair of poor outings. Montgomery faces no threat to his spot in the rotation and is scheduled to pitch again during the finale of a three-game weekend set in Pittsburgh.

MAY 29, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Cardinals vs. Royals Betting Odds, Over/Under, Spread - May 29

Preview the May 29 matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals with odds over/under, game spread, betting lines and more.

MAY 29, 2023 • DATA SKRIVE

MLB Power Rankings: Who's been the best player on each team?

For this week’s Power Rankings, we look around MLB at which players have performed the best for their teams through the first 50-plus games.

MAY 29, 2023

Royals visit the Cardinals to open 2-game series

The St. Louis Cardinals open a two-game series at home against the Kansas City Royals on Monday

MAY 29, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cardinals head home to face Royals after rocky trip After spinning their wheels during a 3-4 road trip through Ohio, the St. Louis Cardinals will try to regain traction at home against the Kan...

MAY 29, 2023 • DEADSPIN.COM

Guardians Pitching Shutdown St. Louis' Best Hitters The Cleveland Guardians limited the damage from Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman, and Paul Goldschmidt in their series win over the St. Louis Car...

MAY 29, 2023 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Ramírez's 2-run double in ninth leads Guardians past Cardinals 4-3

José Ramírez hit a two-run double with two out in the ninth inning, lifting the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals

MAY 28, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland Playing With Minuscule Margin For Error The Cleveland Guardians are 10-14 in one-run games this season after losing 2-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals

MAY 28, 2023 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Cleveland Playing With Minuscule Margin For Error The Cleveland Guardians are 10-14 in one-run games this season after losing 2-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals

MAY 28, 2023 • KANSASCITY.COM

Cleveland Guardians, St. Louis Cardinals starting lineups for May 28, 2023: Game No. 52 Rookie Hunter Gaddis faces the Cardinals after throwing six scoreless innings against the White Sox in his last start.

MAY 28, 2023 • CLEVELAND.COM

Cleveland Playing With Minuscule Margin For Error The Cleveland Guardians are 10-14 in one-run games this season after losing 2-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals

MAY 28, 2023 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Óscar Mercado - Losing work to Burleson, Donovan Mercado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.

Impact After getting steady run in the St. Louis lineup following his promotion from Triple-A Memphis on May 17, Mercado seems to have settled back into a fourth-outfielder role while Dylan Carlson (ankle) and Tyler O'Neill (back) are on the shelf. Alec Burleson and Brendan Donovan will both pick up starts at the two corner-outfield spots for the third game in a row against a right-handed starting pitcher while Mercado remains on the bench. Mercado should still have a path to playing time versus left-handed pitching, however.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Willson Contreras - Gets Sunday off Contreras is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.

Impact Contreras has struggled mightily at the plate as of late, and he hasn't picked up a hit since May 20 against the Dodgers. He'll get a chance to rest against Cleveland on Sunday with Andrew Knizner handling catching duties and hitting ninth.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Cardinals vs. Guardians Betting Odds, Over/Under, Spread - May 28

Preview the May 28 matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Guardians with odds over/under, game spread, betting lines and more...

MAY 28, 2023 • DATA SKRIVE

Guardians and Cardinals meet in series rubber match

The Cleveland Guardians and St. Louis Cardinals meet on Sunday with the winner claiming the three-game series

MAY 28, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Steven Matz - Getting start skipped Matz will be available out of the bullpen for the upcoming two-game series versus the Royals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Impact Matz remains winless at 0-6 with a 5.72 ERA through 10 starts this season. With a scheduling quirk leading to consecutive days off (Wednesday and Thursday), the Cardinals won't need a fifth or sixth starter for a while. It's possible Matz could rejoin the rotation during a road series in Texas from June 5-7. With Matthew Liberatore up in the majors, Matz may eventually be ticketed to the bullpen on a more permanent basis if he can't get his season on track.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Ryan Helsley - Nabs extra-inning win Helsley (3-3) struck out one over 1.1 perfect innings to earn the win Saturday versus the Guardians.

Impact Helsley got the last out of the eighth inning and pitched a clean ninth to keep the game tied at 1-1. He's had some shaky outings recently, allowing three runs (two earned) over his last three appearances, but Saturday was a reminder of what he can be when he's at his best. Helsley lowered his ERA to 2.82 with a 1.16 WHIP and 29:9 K:BB over 22.1 innings. He's now tied with Giovanny Gallegos for the team lead in saves with six apiece, and Helsley's added two holds and three blown saves while splitting the closing duties.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Brendan Donovan - Carries offense in win Donovan went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, two walks, two total runs and a stolen base in a 2-1 extra-inning win against Cleveland on Saturday.

Impact St. Louis managed only two hits in the contest, with one of them being Donovan's solo homer in the second inning. The utility man used his legs to notch the team's only other run, swiping third base as the automatic runner in the 10th and coming home to score on a passed ball. Donovan has reached base safely in seven straight games, batting .368 (7-for-19) with two homers, seven runs, two RBI, seven walks and two thefts over that span.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Giovanny Gallegos - Grabs another save Gallegos tossed a perfect inning to earn a save against the Guardians on Saturday.

Impact Gallegos made quick work of Cleveland in the ninth to uphold a one-run lead, retiring the side on just five pitches. The right-hander picked up his sixth save as a result, five of which have come since May 9. Ryan Helsley has just two saves in that span, and though either reliever could get the call to close in any given contest, Gallegos appears to be slightly more likely to see such chances for the time being.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Jack Flaherty - Tosses quality start Saturday Flaherty allowed one run on seven hits and one walk while striking out four batters over seven innings in a no-decision against Cleveland on Saturday.

Impact Flaherty has struggled mightily with free passes this season -- he entered Saturday with 33 walks over 51 innings -- so it was a a big step in the right direction for him to walk just one batter in the outing. The improved control helped the right-hander tie his season high with seven innings, and he picked up just his third quality start over 11 appearances. Flaherty induced only six swinging strikes and posted a modest four punchouts, but this was nonetheless one of his best starts of the campaign. Though his 4.81 season ERA is nothing to celebrate, it's trending in the right direction again after ballooning to 6.29 following a 2.1 inning, 10-run blowup against the Angels on May 4.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

McCoy: India, Reds topple Cubs The Cincinnati Reds are so close to third place in the National League Central they can reach out and touch the St. Louis Cardinals.

MAY 28, 2023 • DAYTONDAILYNEWS.COM