On May 16 Da'Shawn Hand Jersey , St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter stood in the batterr17;s box at Target Field in Minneapolis. The career .275 hitter was batting an embarrassing .140, and St. Louis fans were calling for his benching.
What a difference six weeks make.
Going into Wednesday nightr17;s series finale with the Cleveland Indians at Busch Stadium, Carpenter is now hitting .259. Since the middle of May, Carpenter has collected 53 hits and batted .349. His 16 doubles and 12 homers in that span rank second in the majors, and no hitter can equal his 1.115 OPS over that period, not even Mike Trout.
In Tuesday nightr17;s 11-2 blowout of Cleveland, Carpenter did something no other Cardinal has ever done. He went 5-for-5 with five runs scored and belted a pair of solo homers. Thatr17;s a roll call not even Stan Musial or Albert Pujols can answer.
Included in that outburst was a leadoff homer off Indians ace Corey Kluber, a blast that cut a 2-0 deficit in half and restored energy in a dugout that could have gotten down after a quick deficit following a 90-minute rain delay.
r0;Her17;s one of the best in the game,r1; Carpenter said of Kluber. r0;Thatr17;s just an outstanding job by our team. We took a lot of good at-bats. Ir17;m starting to put things together. We play a long Levine Toilolo Jersey , long, long season. I knew I could physically do it.r1;
A five-run second inning turned flames into an inferno, burning Kluber in the shortest start of his career. It also put the Cardinals (42-36) in position to sweep the American League Central leaders and gave them four straight wins after a stretch of eight losses in 10 games.
St. Louis will send Jack Flaherty (3-2, 2.50 ERA) to the mound in search of a sweep on Wednesday. Flaherty is coming off the best start of his young career, tying his career high with 13 strikeouts Friday night in Milwaukee. He took a no-hitter one out into the seventh inning before Jesus Aguilar golfed a breaking ball over the left-center-field wall.
But Flaherty had to settle for a no-decision that night in his teamr17;s eventual 2-1 loss, although the performance may have made him a candidate for National League Rookie of the Year.
r0;He prepares beyond his years,r1; Cardinals pitching coach Mike Maddux told mlb.com. r0;If you saw him, you would think her17;s been around the block.r1;
Flaherty has never faced Cleveland.
Flahertyr17;s resume does read like a grizzled veteran compared to Indians right-hander Shane Bieber (2-0, 2.45) Jarrad Davis Jersey , who will make his fourth big league start. Bieber blanked Detroit over seven innings Friday night in a 10-0 victory, allowing just four hits and walking one while fanning nine.
r0;I was saying before the game that I was excited to watch him pitch, and thatr17;s why,r1; Cleveland manager Terry Francona said to mlb.com. r0;He pounded the zone with three different pitches. He changed speeds. That was fun to watch.r1;
Nothing about this series has been fun for the Indians, who in two games have managed just 10 hits, none for extra bases. Thatr17;s been a dramatic contrast after outscoring opponents by 54 runs during a seven-game winning streak.
The debate over whether the NFL should let players kneel during the national anthem flared up in state government this week as some legislators and a governor disparaged the league.
Georgia senators unanimously passed a resolution Thursday denouncing the NFL for allowing players to kneel but not letting a veterans group advertise in the printed game program for the Super Bowl. South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster issued a proclamation designating the day of the big game as r1;Stand for the Flag Super Bowl Sunday.r1; In Tennessee, a Republican legislator running for governor said she would run an ad during the pregame show saying: r1;Itr17;s too bad that the league doesnr17;t respect the patriotism of our national anthem.r1;
The on-the-field protests started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick have waned this season but the controversy hasnr17;t. President Donald Trump alluded to his public spat with the NFL in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, saying that paying tribute to the flag is a r1;civic duty.r1;
The resolution in Georgia, introduced by Republican Sen. David Shafer Devon Kennard Jersey , who is running for lieutenant governor, called the league hypocritical for allowing players to kneel but not allowing an ad from the veterans group AMVETS.
r1;The National Football League has abandoned even the pretense of supporting free speech and dissent, silencing a major veteransr17; organization while condoning organized disrespect and contempt for the Flag of the United States and the National Anthem,r1; the resolution says.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the game program has never been a place for advertising what some might consider to be a political statement.
r1;The NFL has long supported the military and veterans and will again salute our service members in the Super Bowl with memorable on-field moments that will be televised as part of the game,r1; McCarthy said.
The words r1;Please Standr1; figured prominently in the ad, and McCarthy said AMVETS declined to consider alternatives, such as r1;Please Stand for our Veterans.r1; He said the NFL did approve a Veterans of Foreign Wars ad saying r1;We Stand for Veterans.r1;
Georgiar17;s Senate minority leader, Democrat Steve Henson, accused his Republican colleagues of slipping the resolution through in a deceptive manner. r1;Many members of the body had concerns about this issue and how it was rushed to a vote without notice Womens Eric Berry Jersey ,r1; Henson said.
In Tennessee, Republican Rep. Diane Black will run an ad during the Super Bowl pregame show in response to the NFLr17;s rejection for AMVETSr17; ad.
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Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
