(Busch Stadium) The St. Louis Cardinals will have a slightly different look to their lineup tonight as Stephen Piscotty will be in the two-hole with Aledmys Diaz sliding down to sixth in the order.
“Stephen’s been taking good at-bats and getting on base,” explained Mike Matheny. “I think we’ve made it really clear, that’s kind of the model we feel we can put together with guys like a Carp, a Fowler, and Diaz when he’s feeling and seeing the ball well. Working the count. I think that could be a good fit. When we’re not, you’ve got to kind of give the guys that are taking those kinds of at-bats an opportunity.
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“And I like having that right-handed bat in there a little bit too in between, even though Dex is a switch. Kolten’s down at the bottom, we’re trying to balance it out a little bit. I think Stephen could be a good fit right there for the time being.”
Piscotty has hit .318 (7-22) during this homestand while Diaz is in the midst of a .138 (4-29) stretch.
As he has stated many times in the past, where he bats in the lineup doesn’t matter to Piscotty.
“A lot of times, you might end up leading off an inning or batting fourth in an inning,” he reiterated. “Other than the first time through, it doesn’t really affect anything. But Dex does a good job of getting on base, so I’ll be ready to hit with a runner on.”
However, the outfielder does acknowledge there is some benefit to batting in front of Matt Carpenter.
“Having Carp behind me is huge,” said Piscotty. “He’s such a good hitter and is real patient. That’s definitely going to help. Other than that, it’s going to be the same same.”
Less than two hours before the planned start time of 6:15pm, the rain was still falling at Busch Stadium. The tarp covers the infield, but there could be some lingering issues in the outfield.
“I’m not too concerned with the footing,” shared Piscotty. “The one thing that you’ve got to be cautious of is picking up a ground ball that’s been rolling on that wet grass. You grab that ball, it’s going to be pretty coated in water. So, you’ve got to make sure you get on top and get a good grip so you make an accurate throw.”
photo credit: Bill Greenblatt/UPI
When/if this game begins…#STLCards pic.twitter.com/hqPvOysPgm
— Brian Stull (@StullySTL) May 4, 2017
