By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor
(CARDINALS)—Should the Cardinals pencil in Dakota Hudson as a starter next year? Hudson, who went 16-7 for the Cardinals in 2019 and then had Tommy John surgery the next year, appears to be at full strength as his team plays out the string in 2023.
Hudson rang up his fifth straight win of ’23 (he has yet to lose) when he became a stopper against the Mets Sunday. The Cardinals had lost four in a row, partly because of a puny offense that had generated only five runs in their four losses.
The offense bulked up behind Hudson with 15 hits and seven runs. Every starter had at least one hit. Paul Goldschmidt was 3-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
The series marked the debut of top rookie Masyn Winn who went 3 for 11.
His first major league hit was dribbler down the third base line. When Mets’ first baseman Pete Alonso was told to throw the ball out of play, he pitched it into the crowd—-realizing moments later it had been Winn’s first hit. He apologized profusely and the woman in the crowd who had it gave it to a team security officer. Winn signed another ball for her.
(ROYALS)—The Royals have reverted to form after their seven-game winning streak got fans’ hearts beating a little as this team heads for one of its worst seasons ever. They’ve gone 4-11 since that streak. But the new week begins with hope. The Royals open a three-game series against the only American League team with a worse record. The Royals open the series in Oakland at 40-86. The A’s are 34-89.
Jordan Lyles dropped to 3-14 Sunday despite an impressive eight innings in which he allowed only two earned runs. His eight innings dropped his ERA to 6.07.
The Royals needed three to tie in the ninth but ran out of outs after scoring only two.
(THE WEAPON AND THE LEFTY)—The Cardinals’ “Secret Weapon” has an addition to his wardrobe—a red sport coat symbolizing his membership in the Cardinals Hall of Fame. Jose Oquendo, nicknamed “The Secret Weapon” of the Cardinals by Jack Buck, once played all nine positions in a game in 1988. He had a solid career as a player but is best known and revered as a coach of young talent.
Left-handed pitcher Max Lanier, who died at 91 in 2007, was 101-69 in 12 years with the Cardinals. His best year was 15-7 in 1943, the year he led the National League with a 1.90 ERA.
He started as a right-handed pitcher but his son Hal—who had a long career as a utility infielder and was briefly a Cardinals coach—say he severely injured his elbow twice and had to learn to throw left-handed.
(DeJong Yawn)—-The Cardinals-Blue Jays trade that sent shortstop Paul DeJong to Toronto already is a big win for St. Louis, a big bust for Toronto, and a big downfall for a former All-Star shortstop.
The Blue Jays have designated Paul DeJong for assignment, just a eighteen days after getting him from the Cardinals. He’d been acquired when Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette went down with a knee injury. But Bichette has been reinstated frm the IL and DeJong is available for the taking.
DeJong came up to the Cardinals in 2017, hit .285 with 25 home runs and made the All-Star game. He had 30 homers two years later but his batting average had dropped to .233. He never recovered his freshman skills and when the Cardinals sent him to Toronto he was hitting only .233.
And Toronto became a disaster for him. He was 3 for 44 with 1 RBI.
It was a low-risk, low-return trade (so far) for both teams. The Cardinals got minor league pitcher Matt Svanson who was not one of Toronto’s top 30 prospects. Through Friday night he had been in four games for Springfield and had a 10.13 ERA, 7 hits, 6 runs in 5.1 innings.
CHIEFS)—Kansas City Chiefs fans disappointed that the starters played only a few downs in the first pre=season game, got a look at what happens when the starters stick around a while longer in the second pre-season contest. And they got a pretty encouraging look at the backups, too.
Chiefs beat the Cardinals 38-10. The first team offense wasn’t too impressive in the first few series’s but they looked like the Chiefs with a ten-play 92-yard drive that ended with a Justin Watson catching an 18-yeard TD pass from Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes finished his work going 10 for 15, 105 yards and the touchdown in the first quarter. The Chiefs finished the night with 504 yards offense.
The Chiefs went up 17-0, let the Cardinals draw to within 17-10, then polished off the Arizona birds with 21 unanswered points.
Both teams are 1-1 now.
The performance by both backup quarterbacks has started some buzz. Shane Buechele completed all ten of his pases for 105 yards and ran for a 15-yard touchdown. Former Missouri Tiger QB Blaine Gabbert was 7 for 8, 130 yards, two touchdowns. The question remaining for the final pre-season game is which of them will be the number 2 QB. It would not be a surprise if the Chiefs carry three quarterbacks this year.
The Chiefs welcome the Cleveland Browns to Arrowhead Stadium next Saturday night for the last pre-season game. The teams have only one cutdown date this year. They have to name their 53-man rosters on August 29. Although teams can have 53 roster players, only 48 can be eligible on game day. Teams also can have a 16-player practice squad.
(SPEAKING OF QUARTERBACKS)—Coach Eli Drinkwitz says we’ll see Brady Cook and Sam Horn splitting time in the first game of the year against South Dakota. He says he wants to “let the play on the field decide it.”
Now, let’s get up to speed.
(INDYCAR)—Josef Newgarden will try to keep his IndyCar record of consecutive oval victories intact next Sunday afternoon at World Wide Technology Speedway just east of St. Louis.
Newgarden has won all four oval races this year, five in a row counting last year’s win at WWTR. He seeks to become the first driver to sweep all of the oval races in a season since Sebastian Bourdais did it in 2006. Bourdais had a little easier time of it, though. A race on the Milwaukee Mile was the only oval race held for IndyCar in 2006.
Racing at WWTR is usually highly-competitive. There were 13 lead changes and 520 on track passes for position last year before rookie David Malukas chased Newgarden to the finish line, trailing by .4708 of a second.
Only two races remain in the series after this one. Newgarden’s chances of overhauling Aledx Palou for the championship took a hard blow in the last race, on the Indianapolis road course two weeks ago, in which Newgarden (left) battled problems and finished 25th.
Scott Dixon won the race and moved past Newgarden into second place, 101 points behind Palou. Newgarden is back by 105. A win by Palou would make him the first driver since Cristiano daMatta did it in 2022.
(NASCAR)—Fifteen of sixteen playoff spots have been determined heading into NASCAR’s last regular-season race. Bubba Wallace is on the bubble in 16th, thirty-two points ahead of rookie Ty Gibbs.
Although Wallace has some breathing room going into the race, nothing is certain when the race is at Daytona. Multiple-car crashes often turn anticipated results (and some cars) upside down. If a driver who has not won this year captures the flag at Daytona Saturday night, he’s in and Wallace is out. The most desperate driver might be former series champion Chase Elliott, who has to win to be in.
(SRX)—A Missouri track provided the wrapup to the third season of Tony Stewart’s Superstar Racing Experience this week. The race, at Wheatland in southwest Missouri, went to Jonathan Davenport and the championship to Ryan Newman.
The six-race made-for-television series features specially-built cars races by big names mostly from NASCAR and IndyCar ranks.
Davenport, the race winner, however, is a dirt-track champion who doesn’t run with the big dogs, Jonathan Davenport, a Georgia driver who has won the national championship in the Late Model Dirt Serioes in 2015, 2018, and 2019. On the podium with him was current Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski and Fenton’s ageless Kenny Schrader who, a few days earlier, had gone to Canada to win a 100-lap NASCAR Dirt Classic race at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario.
Schader, 68, thus became the oldest driver to win a NASCAR-sanctioned event and the first non-Canadian to win in the Pinty’s Series.
(photo credits: Bob Priddy, Rick Gevers, and Lucas Oil Speedway)