Cardinals look to continue offensive surge against Twins

The St. Louis Cardinals will vie for their eighth win in 10 games on Sunday as they wrap up a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.

Manager Oliver Marmol's team snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday with a 9-6 win over the Twins, and in that victory, the Cardinals continued to swing the bats well. They managed 13 hits and smacked four home runs.

"Offense did a really nice job today," Marmol said. "They continue to just - one through nine - take some really, really tough at-bats."

Over the last nine games, St. Louis is averaging seven runs a game. As a team, the Cardinals have batted .292 (93-for-319) and hit 16 of their 81 homers in that span.

Jordan Walker extended his hitting streak to 10 games on Saturday and did so in emphatic fashion. His one hit in five at-bats was his 18th home run, which hit off the third-deck facade in left field.

During his hitting streak, Jordan has .362 (17-for-47) batting average and a .660 slugging percentage.

Even a newcomer has gotten in on the action. Third baseman Blaze Jordan made his debut Friday. Ranked the team's 25th best prospect by MLB.com, the 23-year-old has gone 2-for-4 in both starts. On Saturday, he tripled and hit his first major league home run.

While the Cardinals have been hot of late, the Twins have lost five of their last seven, although they are starting to find their power stroke. They homered three times in Saturday's loss and seven times so far in the series. Manager Derek Shelton's squad has homered 15 times in its last nine home games dating back to June 1.

"It's important, and I think we knew the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark was going to come when the weather warmed up here," Shelton said.

Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton both homered in Saturday's loss. Lewis, who was recalled last weekend from Triple-A St. Paul, has a six-game hitting streak with three home runs in his last four games.

Buxton, who ranks third in the American League with 22 homers, has five in his last seven contests.

A pair of 25-year-old right-handers will start on Sunday.

Michael McGreevy (3-5, 2.99 ERA) seeks his first win since May 8 for the Cardinals. He got a no-decision last Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds in a game St. Louis claimed 5-3, when he gave up two runs on five hits in six innings. Both runs came off solo homers. He will face Minnesota for the first time in his big-league career.

Taj Bradley (5-3, 4.02) has lost his last two starts and has not gotten out of the fifth inning in his last three. Bradley gave up three home runs in 4 1/3 innings Tuesday at Detroit, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks in a 10-4 loss.

His only start against St. Louis took place on Aug. 7, 2024, as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. He gave up five runs on nine hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings and was tagged with the loss as the Cardinals won 5-2.

-Field Level Media