Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright celebrates after getting a strikeout to end the sixth inning during Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. (David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com)
ATLANTA — If there's a twist to the Cardinals' lineup for the first game of a split doubleheader Sunday against the Braves at Truist Field it's at second base, where Edmundo Sosa will start the first game even though Atlanta is starting a righthander.
The decision reflects the Cardinals' starter more than the Braves'.
And it's not like there's a lot of history for the Cardinals' hitters against Atlanta's pitcher Bryse Wilson, or the Game 2 starter Drew Smyly, a lefty.
The Cardinals, as a roster, have 11 at-bats of experience in the majors against the two pitchers. Nolan Arenado has four of them, mostly because he's played against Smyly once before. Smyly has reverse splits this season, his first with Atlanta. And that could invite a chance for Matt Carpenter to start at one of his three positions in the nightcap of the back-to-back seven-inning games.
Carpenter has never faced Smyly.
The opportunity for the Cardinals is to split the four-game visit to Atlanta and regain traction in this losing stretch before Monday's off day. They draw a Braves team facing a daunting challenge.
Atlanta has a doubleheader on Sunday, followed by a doubleheader Monday, and they must travel to Queens in between.
They'll play at least 28 innings of baseball in the next 36 hours.
Adam Wainwright, almost 21 years to the date that the Braves drafted in the first round, will start the first game of the doubleheader. Kwang Hyun Kim, originally scheduled for Sunday Night Baseball, will remain on turn for that game and start the night game.
This will be Wainwright's second career regular-season start at Atlanta's suburban ballpark, which has had a name change since last he pitched here. Wainwright allowed five runs in four innings and took the loss to the Braves. At their previous home, Turner Field, he was 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA in nine games (six starts).
Wainwright has been excellent for the Cardinals in doubleheaders, especially in 2020 when he handled the team's first game back from quarantine, and later pitched a seven-inning shutout in a doubleheader.
The veteran righthander is 7-0 with a 2.96 ERA when pitching in a doubleheader. That includes two relief appearances in 2015.
Here is the lineup he'll have behind him and the one facing him:
1. Tommy Edman, RF
2. Dylan Carlson, CF
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Tyler O'Neill, LF
6. Yadier Molina, C
7. Edmundo Sosa, 2B
8. Paul DeJong, SS
9. Adam Wainwright, RHP
1. Ronald Acuna Jr., RF
2. Freddie Freeman, 1B
3. Ozzie Albies, 2B
4. Abraham Almonte, LF
5. Austin Riley, 3B
6. Dansby Swanson, SS
7. Williams Contreras, C
8. Ender Inciarte, CF
9. Bryse Wilson, RHP
Check back throughout Father's Day for updated coverage here from the first game of the doubleheader and, of course, at StlToday.com and the pages of the Post-Dispatch for complete coverage from on site at Truist Park in Atlanta.
June 20, 2021 at 10:10PM
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/birdland/first-look-fresh-start-cardinals-carry-minimal-history-vs-braves-starters-into-doubleheader/article_933e3373-4e96-55cc-b46c-58aedba7453a.html
First look, fresh start? Cardinals carry minimal history vs. Braves starters into doubleheader - STLtoday.com
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