The Cardinals are turning Monday’s day-night doubleheader against the Reds into a real test for a couple of young arms and a fresh-looking lineup.
Game 1 is set for 12:40 p.m. CDT, with Game 2 following at 5:40 p.m.
CDT, and the spotlight early will land on Quinn Mathews. The left-hander is back in the majors for his second career MLB start after making his first on Aug. 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
For St. Louis, this is another chance to see whether he can make a case to stay.
The other major wrinkle is the lineup the Cardinals unveiled for the opener. Cincinnati is going with lefty Kent Emanuel, who is making his first big league appearance since 2024.
He has pitched only once in the Reds’ system this season, starting in Triple-A on Aug. 9, after spending time in Indy Ball. That makes for a tricky assignment right away, especially with Joshua Báez leading off for St.
Louis.
Báez’s rise has been the story of the weekend. He made his MLB debut and immediately grabbed the attention of the sport by becoming the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit three home runs in an MLB debut. He hit fifth on Saturday and Sunday, but now the Cardinals are moving him to the top spot against a left-hander coming back to the majors.
St. Louis is stacking three righties at the top of the order, a clear sign it is not taking this matchup lightly.
JJ Wetherholt is out of the lineup, but the Cardinals are treating that as simple rest. He has appeared in 118 of 124 games this season, so the day off does not appear to be anything more than that.
Even with Mathews on the mound, Báez is the headliner here. The Cardinals held back on giving him a shot for months, and after the way he burst onto the scene, they are wasting no time showing how much they trust him.
In Other News...
Cardinals Top Prospect Is Creating A Catcher Debate Earlier Than Expected
Rainiel Rodriguez is starting to force a conversation the Cardinals probably hoped to put off for a while. The 19-year-old catcher has made real noise since moving up to Double-A Springfield, where his bat has taken another step forward and added some intrigue to a position that already has Ivan Herrera, Jimmy Crooks and Pedro Pages in the mix.
The organization is still not looking at Rodriguez as a big-league option this season, which is part of what makes the early progress so notable. Even so, the way he is handling tougher pitching has only sharpened the long view on his future, with his timetable now looking more like a potential 2027 arrival if this climb keeps going in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Joshua Bez Hype Just Ran Into A Tough Cardinals Reality
Joshua Bez could not have asked for a louder introduction to the majors, launching three home runs in his first three at-bats in his MLB debut with the Cardinals. For a team always interested in finding impact talent, it was the kind of opening that can quickly turn a prospect into a must-watch name, especially for a player known for power and speed.
Since then, though, the game has offered the harder lesson that follows so many fast starts. Bez has gone 0-for-16 with six strikeouts, a reminder that the raw tools are still paired with real swing-and-miss risk, and the Cardinals will be watching closely to see how he handles the adjustment phase that has already arrived. [Read more 🡒]
Alec Burleson Is Giving The Cardinals More Than Just RBIs
Alec Burleson has already given the Cardinals plenty in the middle of the order, but his work at first base is starting to matter just as much. The traditional numbers have long painted him as a below-average defender, yet there is a different picture underneath the surface this season, one that suggests St. Louis may be getting more value out of him than his RBI total alone would indicate.
Receiving Outs Above Average has Burleson atop the majors for handling throws at first, a notable shift for a player whose reputation had been built almost entirely on his bat. For a Cardinals club looking for every edge it can find, that kind of steadying presence matters, because it means Burleson is helping the lineup and helping the infield in ways his box score line does not fully capture. [Read more 🡒]