(CARDINALS)—Joshua Baez is a major leaguer and a record-setter at that, but it took only two games to show he has work to do.
Baez, who has a rep as a power hitter, showed it Saturday when he became the first major leaguer to hit three home runs in his first game.
He ripped the first pitch he saw from a major league pitcher 449 feet into the center field bleachers at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Next time up, he went 389 feet into the left field stands and the third time, the shot measured 368 feet to right.
In one game it appeared he had lived up to his promises in that Saturday game. He had hit 34 home runs this year in Triple=A, driven in 90 runs and had a .256 average.
But on Sunday, the real world came calling. He was hitless in five at bats and fanned three times—displaying a feature that has been worrisome throughout his minor league career. He has struck out 547 times, better than 25% of the times he’s recorded an at-bat.
He helped the Cardinals win the weekend series against the Cubs and win their eighth game in their last dozen, to pull two games above .500 again and move back into the wildcard playoff hunt with about six weeks (39 games) left in the regular season.
Blaze Jordan’s baseball shoes are headed to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown—-because Baez had worn them for his historic day Saturday.
The Redbirds started the week yesterday with a doubleheader against the Reds in Cincinnati. They recalled lefty Quinn Matthews from Memphis to start the first game with their leading pitcher, Andre Pallante looking for win number 13 in the second game.
Alec Burlison drove in both Cardinals runs in a 2-1 win in the opener, a makeup game for a rainout in May. Matthews made a solid start before leaving after four innings. He struck out seven. Burlison took over the National League RBI lead in that game. The win went to Luis Gastelum who struck out two of the three batters he faced in the fifth. Riley O’Brien cleaned up by striking out the side in the ninth to get save number 31 in 36 chances.
The Redbirds let the second game slip away from them. The Reds tied the game in the 9th. The Cardinals had two on in the top of the tenth and couldn’t get one across and the Reds sent the hometown fans home happy in the tenth. 6-5 Reds.
(MILES TO GO)—Former Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas might have reached the end of the road with the Washington Nationals designating him for assignment.
His work this year seems the lean against anybody picking him up for a stretch run. He made eleven starts and appeared in thirteen other games this year for Washington, has gone only 3-9 with an ERA of 5.89 through 113 innings. He’s given up 26 home runs while striking out only 56 batters. The last month and a half have been brutal as his ERA for July jumped to 6.62 and before his release, it was 8.18 for August. He’s 37.
(ROYALS)—The Royals remain one of the worst teams in the majors this year but there have been flashes of promise, one being Noah Cameron’s performance Sunday against the Angels when he gave up only a bloop single in the seventh inning. Cameron went on to pitch his first career complete game. He struck out eight, threw 115 pitches and struck out eight.
The win allowed the Royals to take their first series since they took two out of three against June 4-7 against the Twins.
It’s the time of year for the Royals to make some personnel changes—as is the case with major league team in general at this point in the season. Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcie have come home after their rehab assignments. Pasquantino has been inactive since July 29 because of a sore right wrist. Garcia has been missing since June 23rd because of a strained muscle in his left hand. It’s been almost two months since the Royals had their regular starting lineup intact.
The Royals also have called up LHP Connor Thomas from Omaha. They claimed him from the Athletics roster earlier this month.
The addition of those three to the roster means three other guys had to do. Infielder Josh Rojas and RHP Jose Cuas have been sent down to Omaha and veteran outfielder Sterling Marte has been designated for assignment.
Marte hasn’t been used much—only 59 at-bats this year. He was hitting .242.
(CHIEFS)—The Kansas City Chiefs got their first shot against somebody not wearing red and yellow during the weekend and although Coach Andy Reid saw some things he liked, he also saw somethings that “we got to clean up.” The Chiefs lost to the Rams 20-12, with the winning margin provided by former Missouri Tiger place kicker Harrison Mevis, who was good on two field goals and both LA extra points.
One of the biggest areas for cleaning up is the ongoing tendency to draw flags. The Chiefs had the seventh-most penalties in the league last year with 119, almost evenly divided between the offense and the defense. They had a dozen against the Rams. Eleven of them were offensive, five before the snap.
(MIZZOU)—Ahmad Hardy has been on the field—but only as a spectator—as his Missouri Tiger teammates continue their work toward the opening game in a couple of weeks. Reporters covering the drills say he was spotted on the sidelines last week with a black sleeve on his left leg.
Coach Eli Drinkwitz says there’s nothing new to report about his return to the field in pads. But he says there will be an update next weekend. Hardy has been in the work room and continued with speed training and walk-throughs but Drinkwitz says he’s still some time away from being ready for full contact.
(MOOKIE HOPES)—Former Tiger wide receiver Mookie Cooper hopes the United Football League has a place for him in 2027. He was one of more than 250 players taking part in the UFL Showcase in St. Louis a few days ago.
He finished his Mizzou career early when he was sidelined with a season-ending injury in 2024. “I’m just chasing an opportunity,” he told a reporter. He hopes he performed well enough to impress UFL coaches although he is not fully recovered from surgery for a double sports hernia.
Last year, he helped coach players at University High School. This year, he’s been coaching running backs at William Jewell College. “I just know at heart I’m a ballplayer,” he told are reporter at the UFL combine. “My heart is still in playing. I know I still can go.”
Cooper was a 5-foot-eight receiver who caught 92 passes in 44 games (11 of them starts) for 1,179 yards. His biggest game was against Auburn shortly before he was sidelined two years ago when he was on the scoring end of a 78-yard pass play.
(NOT READY TO GO)—Former (for now) Tiger basketball star Mark Mitchell isn’t ready to leave college basketball. He has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA seeking a fifth year of eligibility, one of ten players who have filed suit in Louisville, Kentucky seeking a court order keeping the NCAA from blocking their fifth year. His lawsuit asks a judge to order the NCAA to reopen the transfer portal which means he could play for somebody else if he wins—although a ruling from another court would let him return to Mizzou. Media reports, however, say Kentucky is prepared to offer one of the biggest financial packages in all of college basketball to get Mitchell.
Present NCAA rules bar him from talking to any coaches other than Missouri’s Dennis Gates. However, Gates already has a full roster of 15 players, the maximum number allowed. Another question is whether Missouri could compete financially with Kentucky.
From the diamond to the oval—or the road course
(INDYCAR)—Marcus Ericsson charged to a win in the closing laps of the IndyCar race in Markham, Ontario, Canada with a bold late move to get past Will Power, Alex Palou, and leader Romain Grosjean and get his first IndyCar race since 2023.
The result slightly tightens the point standings with four races left on the schedule but Alex Palou remains on top with what is likely a big enough margin to withstand any competitor.
Ericsson was fifth after his last pit stop, his 13 second lead disappearing while he got fuel and fresh tires. He had to pass teammate Will Power, points-leader Alex Palou, and leader Romain Grosjean to win the first race held at Markham. Grosjean gave Dale Coyne Racing its first podium finish of the year. Power, who started 25th, got his fourth third-place of the year.
(NASCAR)—The door is closing on some big-name drivers outside the top 16 in season points standings with only two more races before the 16-driver playoff run begins. The week in NASCAR showed a familiar face making a familiar late-season charge toward the field of 16 and the move of a disappointing rookie to one of the sport’s superteams.
Joey Logano, who has languished around 20th most of the year, picked up his second win in the last four races Saturday night at Richmond. He has gained nine positions in the standings in the last six races and is now ninth in the standings, within one point of eighth and only 36 points out of sixth place.
This isn’t the first time Logano has spent the first part of the season with mediocre results only to catch fire down the stretch to the playoffs. He has three Cup championships on his record.
The win is his 37th victory for Roger Penske, tying Missouri’s Rusty Wallce for most NASCAR wins for The Captain. Logano has two other wins before joining Penske. Wallace had eighteen wins for other teams, totaling 55 in his career.
Chase Brisco led 171 laps and had a two-second lead going into the last round of pit stops. But Logano’s team got him out ahead of Briscoe and Logano got past Christopher Bell and into the lead with 24 laps left.
(Photo Credits—Baez—Instagram; Ericsson—Rick Gevers at WWTR; Logano—Bob Priddy at the Brickyard)