Cardinals showcase lineup features a couple of Oli Marmol surprises
The St. Louis Cardinals are rolling. After sweeping the San Francisco Giants, the Cardinals are now 39-37 and are in sole possession of the second Wild Card spot in the NL. There's more work to be done, obviously, but they've done a great job bouncing back from their brutal start.
What makes this Cardinals' hot streak even better is that they're set to get Willson Contreras, their best player over the first month and a half of the season, back from his long IL stint for Monday's series opener against the Atlanta Braves.
Getting Contreras back in time for the red-hot Braves is a great thing, and allows John Mozeliak to see how his team stacks up against one of the National League's elite teams. Unfortunately, Oli Marmol is planning on trotting out a lineup that isn't what Cardinals fans wanted to see for the series opener.
Cardinals lineup vs. Braves features several Oli Marmol surprises
News before our @MLBNetwork Showcase: Willson Contreras is active and in the @Cardinals lineup for the first time since May 7. Alec Burleson starts at 1B for the 5th time this year. The STL starting lineup is without Goldschmidt *and* Arenado for the 1st time in ‘24. pic.twitter.com/SH75hJgJFd
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) June 24, 2024
There are a couple of notable things here. First, Contreras is back, and slotted right into the No. 3 hole, which is exactly where he should be. Second, Alec Burleson, St. Louis' primary right fielder on most nights, is at first base for the fifth time this season. Burleson playing first means Paul Goldschmidt is out of the lineup.
No, Goldschmidt is not the player he once was, but having him on the bench against a tough Braves team while Dylan Carlson, a .198 hitter without a single home run is hitting sixth, is frustrating. St. Louis is already without Nolan Arenado who is dealing with an arm injury, so it's less than ideal to also see Goldschmidt out.
To his credit, Marmol backed out of giving Goldschmidt an off-day against the Giants over the weekend when Arenado first got hurt, but why not just rest him against San Francisco and play him against a much more formidable Braves team? Couldn't Marmol have at least used Goldschmidt as the team's designated hitter over Matt Carpenter?
The top five of this lineup looks decent, but the bottom four should be relatively easy for Spencer Schwellenbach to work through in his fifth MLB start. Hopefully the Cardinals can score enough, but Lance Lynn might have to put together one of his best starts of the season to keep St. Louis in this game.
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