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2012 St. Louis Cardinals season

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2012 St. Louis Cardinals
National League Wild Card
File:Saint Louis Cardinals Logo.png
DivisionCentral Division
BallparkBusch Stadium
CitySt. Louis, Missouri
Record88–74 (.543)
OwnersWilliam DeWitt, Jr.
Fred Hanser
Klingaman Group
ManagersMike Matheny
TelevisionFox Sports Midwest
(Dan McLaughlin, Al Hrabosky, Rick Horton)
RadioKMOX (1120AM)
(Mike Shannon, John Rooney)
StatsESPN.com
Baseball Reference
← 2011 Seasons 2013 →

The St. Louis Cardinals 2012 season was the 131st season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri, the 121st season in the National League, and the seventh at Busch Stadium III. The Cardinals made their 25th trip to the postseason in 2012 after taking the NL Wild Card title by one game over the Atlanta Braves on the last day of the regular season in 2011. They began the 2012 season away against the Miami Marlins on April 4. St. Louis was coming off a 90–72 (.556) season, a second-place finish in the NL Central, the aforementioned wild card berth, and their National League-leading 11th World Series championship.

In 2012, they finished with an 88–74 (.543) record and second place in the NL Central. By virtue of coming in second to the Atlanta Braves, they won the second National League Wild Card spot, and then beat the Braves in the Wild Card Game. They then played the NL East champion Washington Nationals in the NLDS and beat them in five games to advance to the NL Championship Series against the San Francisco Giants. However, they lost to the Giants in seven games after leading the series 3 games to 1.

Offseason departures and acquisitions

Management

On October 31, 2011, Tony La Russa announced his retirement after 16 years as manager of the Cardinals. After interviewing several candidates, the Cardinals announced, in a press conference on November 14, that former Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny would be the team's new manager, the 49th in team history.[1] At 41, he is the youngest active manager in the majors. He holds the catching major league record for consecutive errorless games at 252, and for consecutive errorless chances with 1,565.

On November 16, Matheny and the Cardinals announced the new coaching staff: Dave Duncan stayed on as the pitching coach for the 17th year as he was the only coach under contract, with third-base coach Jose Oquendo, hitting coach and former Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire, and bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist. 50-year-old Mike Aldrete moved from assistant hitting coach to bench coach. Chris Maloney also 50 years of age, moved from manager of the AAA Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League to first-base coach in St. Louis; his first time on a major league staff. Former bench coach Joe Pettini and first-base coach Dave McKay moved to other roles in baseball operations for the team.[2]

On December 2, former Cardinals outfielder John Mabry was named assistant hitting coach.[3]

Hitters

On December 8, Albert Pujols signed a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels worth $254 million, declining a 10-year $220 million offer by the Cardinals. His old contract paid him $111 million over eight years from 2004−2011. Pujols departed among the leaders in virtually every major offensive category in Cardinals franchise history. At the time of the signing of the contract, he was fourth all-time in hits, third in runs and second in total bases, doubles, home runs, RBIs and walks. He was behind only Stan Musial in the five latter categories. He was seventh in games played and could have climbed as high as third with two more seasons in a Cardinals uniform.[4] He was paid $14,508,395 in 2011.[5] His former teammates were stunned by his decision.[6]

On December 10, the team re-signed Rafael Furcal to a two-year deal worth $14 mil.[7]

On December 12, the Cardinals refused to offer a contract to Ryan Theriot, making him a non-tendered free agent.
On the same day, utilityman [2B/OF] Skip Schumaker accepted a two-year deal worth $3 mil. avoiding free agency after 2012. He was paid $4.7 mil. in his just completed two-year deal.[8]

On December 22, the Cardinals signed outfielder Carlos Beltrán to a two-year deal.[9]

On March 1, 2012 the Cardinals announced the extension of catcher Yadier Molina's expiring $7 mil. contract at the end of 2012, for 5 years (with a 6th year $15 mil. option for 2018) for $75 mil., making him the second-highest-paid catcher (to Twins catcher Joe Mauer) in all of baseball. He leads all catchers with 39 pickoffs since 2005, and has thrown out 44% of all basestealers in his eight years. He led all Cardinals batters in 2011 with a .305 batting average, starting more games behind the plate than any other catcher, and established career-highs with 55 runs scored, 32 doubles, 14 home runs, and 65 RBIs.[10]

Pitchers

On December 15, 2011, the Cardinals signed 35-year-old lefty reliever J. C. Romero to a one-year contract.[11]

The Cardinals invited nineteen players to Spring training camp.[12]

The team finished setting its 25-man roster on March 30. Placed on the DL were pitcher Chris Carpenter, utilityman Skip Schumaker, and outfielder Allen Craig.[13]

Regular season

April

On Sunday, April 22 at Pittsburgh, the Cardinals became the first defending world champion team since the 1922 New York Giants to open their title defense with six consecutive series win.[14] They had a record of 11-5 (.688) during that streak. The series streak ended on April 24, with a second consecutive loss to the Cubs in Chicago, although winning the final game of the series on April 25.

May

The Cardinals announced they would retire former manager Tony La Russa' #10 prior to the game on May 11. His number will be the 12th retired by the Cardinals. He ranks third on the managers' all-time wins list with 2,728. 1,408 of those came with the Cardinals in his 16-year tenure there, and his .544 winning percentage with the team is his best of the three clubs he managed in his 33 seasons.[15]

On May 14, Carlos Beltrán was named the National League Player of the Week for the week of May 7–13 after posting six home runs, 13 RBIs, eight runs scored, 30 total bases, and a 1.200 slugging percentage. He collected hits in five of the six games, homering in four of them. This is Beltran's ninth Player of the Week Award and his sixth in the National League. He leads the National League with 15 home runs, and is second in RBIs, with 32.[16]

At home on May 22, Adam Wainwright threw his first complete game shutout since August 6, 2010, in a 4−0 victory over the San Diego Padres. Wainwright missed the entire 2011 season recovering from elbow surgery. It was his ninth career complete game and just his third shutout.[17]

June

Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in New York Mets' 51-year history (totaling 8,019 regular season and 74 post-season games previously) with an 8−0 shutout over the Cardinals and Adam Wainwright at Citi Field on June 1. 27,069 witnessed the no-hitter, with Santana throwing a career-high 134 pitches. He walked five, and struck out eight. (box score) Left fielder Mike Baxter robbed Yadier Molina with a great catch in the seventh inning for the 20th out. Umpire Adrian Johnson ruled a hard grounder by former Met Carlos Beltrán (in his first return to New York) down the third-base line 'foul' although the ball made a mark on the chalk in the sixth inning. Beltran subsequently grounded out to third base on the next pitch. The no-hitter was the eighth against the Cardinals in their long history, the first time by Hall-of-Famer Christy Mathewson on July 15, 1901. The previous no-hitter against the Cardinals was by Fernando Valenzuela on June 29, 1990 at Dodger Stadium.[18][19] The Cardinals were also the first defending World Series champion to be pitched a no-hitter against since the Oakland Athletics in their 1990 pennant season.[20][21] On the opposite side, Cardinals' pitchers have thrown 10 no-hitters against opponents, the last one by Bud Smith against the San Diego Padres on September 3, 2001. The Padres are now the only present team without a no-hitter.

On June 7, Jaime García (left-hander), landed on the disabled list after his 2-inning June 5 start with a left shoulder sprain. He is the eighth player on it, one-off the season high of nine—at the same time with the seven others which include two starting pitchers (he and Chris Carpenter), two relievers (Scott Linebrink and Kyle McClellan), two infielders (Lance Berkman and Matt Carpenter), and two outfielders (Jon Jay and Skip Schumaker).[22]

On June 15, batting against his old team the Kansas City Royals, Carlos Beltrán became the first switch-hitter in MLB history to attain 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases, with his seventh stolen base in the second inning. Seven other hitters also are members of the 300-300 club.[23]

July

Carlos Beltrán (of) and Rafael Furcal (ss) won the fan voting to be starters at their positions for the 83rd All-Star Game in Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium on July 10. Yadier Molina (c) was selected by the players as a reserve for his fourth consecutive year; he ranked second in the voting to starter Buster Posey. Lance Lynn was also selected by the players as a reserve pitcher; his first time going to the All-Star Game. Retired Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa will un-retire for the one game. Coaches Derek Lilliquist, Jose Oquendo and Mark McGwire will also be participating in the event, as all are members of La Russa's All-Star staff. Former St. Louis coaches Joe Pettini, Dave McKay and Dave Duncan are members of that coaching staff, as well. Beltran is leading the NL with 61 RBIs, and second in home runs with 20. He also ranks in the top 10 with a .310 batting average. It will be his fourth time as an All-Star fan-vote starter, seventh overall.[24] As an added bonus for Beltran, he was also picked to participate in the Home Run Derby contest on July 9, the night before the All-Star Game. It will be the first time for him in that fan-favorite event.[25]

On July 6, after the passing of Yadier Molina's wife's grandfather, he left the team to join his family in Puerto Rico and was put on the bereavement list. He will miss the three weekend games and won't participate in the All-Star game. Matt Holliday was picked by Tony La Russa to replace him on the roster. Bryan Anderson was recalled from AAA-Memphis to replace Molina on the Cardinals' roster, with Tony Cruz to start as catcher for the weekend games.[26]

After the rosters were opened to the fans, voting was held to decide the final fan-voted addition to each team. The online balloting was conducted from Sunday afternoon, July 1, through Thursday afternoon, July 5. The winners of the final vote were David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals (NL), and Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers (AL). Chipper Jones, of the Atlanta Braves, was removed from the ballot on July 3 after he replaced Matt Kemp on the roster due to Kemp's injury.[27]

The 83rd All-Star Game on July 10, at Kansas City's Kaufmann Stadium was an 8-0 blowout for the National League, its sixth shutout win against two shutout losses for the NL. It made retired manager Tony La Russa the first manager to win All-Star Games in both leagues. He was 3-0 in the AL, but 0-2 in the NL before this year's game.[28] La Russa emphasized this was his final game as a manager.[29][30]

On July 3, the team and disabled pitcher Chris Carpenter decided he will have season-ending surgery to repair his thoracic outlet syndrome that has plagued him all year with nerve-related shoulder problems. Recovery time is estimated at six months, so if done this month he will be ready for spring training in February 2013.[31] Surgery is set for July 19, performed by Dr. Gregory Pearl in Dallas, Texas.[32]

On July 16, Trevor Rosenthal was called up for the first time to the major leagues, and made his debut in the eighth inning on July 18, the 2,000th player in Cardinals' history. No other franchise in baseball has reached 2,000.[33]

On July 21, at home against the Cubs, a 0−0 tight game started by Jake Westbrook (8-8, after getting the win in 7 inn.) was broken in the bottom of the seventh with a 12-run explosion by the Cardinals, won by that 12−0 score with 16 hits against only 4 for the Cubs. The inning-explosion featured 7 doubles, tying a major-league record set by the (NL) 1936 Boston Bees (against the Cardinals at Sportsmen's Park, first inning on August 25), 17 batters with 10 hits including a triple, 2 singles, 2 walks, and a wild pitch. David Freese started the inning with an infield single. Allen Craig then got one of his two doubles that inning, and the merry-go-round was on. The 12-runs in an inning also tied the highest runs in any inning by a Cardinals' team since the 1926 club did it in the third inning against the Phillies on September 15. Gameday Recap [34] The club got 27 total bases and 9 doubles in the game—the last time they did that was on July 12, 1931.[35]

The team made a trade on the last day of the non-waiver deadline, July 31, sending minor-league third baseman Zack Cox to the Miami Marlins for minor-league relief pitcher Edward Mujica.[36]

August

On August 3, Lance Berkman went on the disabled list for the third time this season with knee problems.[37]

Matt Holliday got his 1,500th career hit on August 30.

September

Yadier Molina got his 1,000th career hit on September 4, a rare infield single.

Shelby Miller got his first major league win as a reliever, in a crucial fourth game of the series, in the 12th-inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 16.[38]

On September 17, the Cardinals announced they were moving their short-season affiliation with the Batavia (NY) Muckdogs to the State College (PA) Spikes in the same New York–Penn League.[39]

On September 19, the Cardinals announced they were moving their low-A team from Quad Cities (Iowa) back to Peoria (Illinois) where they had the team from 1995–2004, in the Midwest League.[40]

On September 19, David Freese and Yadier Molina hit their 20th home runs of the seasons. It marked the first time in Cardinals' history that five players have hit 20 home runs in a season, with the shutout win against the Houston Astros. Carlos Beltrán (29), Matt Holliday (27), and Allen Craig (21) reached 20 previously.[41]

On September 20, the Cardinals went over the 3 million attendance figure for the ninth consecutive year.[42]

On September 21, Chris Carpenter returned to the rotation for the first time this season after surgery in July, refuting doctors' predictions of no pitching possible in 2012. He faced 22 batters (77 pitches, 47 strikes) in pitching five innings, giving up five hits (incl. a double and triple) and two runs, hitting one batter, walking one, and striking out two against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, leading 3−2 after the fifth inning, but Fernando Salas blew the save for him with two-outs and two strikes in the ninth when leading 4–2, and the team lost in 11 innings.[42][43][44] "My stuff wasn't as sharp as I'd like, it wasn't even as sharp as it's been in those simulated games", said Carpenter, who preceded this start with four simulated games. "I did the best I could to get as many outs as I could and give us a chance. It was fun to go out there. It's definitely something I can build on, and hopefully my stuff is sharper as I get out there more often." [45]

On September 23, Pete Kozma hit his first home run. The next game on the 24th he hit his second home run.

On September 24, closer Jason Motte was named NL Player of the Week after saving all five of the Cardinals' wins in the week of September 17–23, and is leading the NL in saves with his 40th. He became the first closer with the Cardinals to save 40 games since Jason Isringhausen in 2004. It was the first time he has won that award, and the first time a closer had won it since Huston Street in 2009.[46][47]

October

On October 2, despite losing in their 161st game with a chance to clinch in front of almost 40,000 fans, the team later clinched the second wild-card spot when the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to their arch-rival San Francisco Giants.[48][49]

For the last game of the season at home on October 3, Shelby Miller, who started 2012 as the club's top prospect, made his major league debut as a starter against the Cincinnati Reds. He has already had five appearances (1-0, 2.35 ERA) in 7.2 IP as a reliever.[50]

Season standings

NL Central standings

NL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 97 65 .599 — 50‍–‍31 47‍–‍34
St. Louis Cardinals 88 74 .543 9 50‍–‍31 38‍–‍43
Milwaukee Brewers 83 79 .512 14 49‍–‍32 34‍–‍47
Pittsburgh Pirates 79 83 .488 18 45‍–‍36 34‍–‍47
Chicago Cubs 61 101 .377 36 38‍–‍43 23‍–‍58
Houston Astros 55 107 .340 42 35‍–‍46 20‍–‍61


NL Wild Card

Division leaders
Team W L Pct.
Washington Nationals 98 64 .605
Cincinnati Reds 97 65 .599
San Francisco Giants 94 68 .580
Wild Card teams
(Top 2 teams qualify for postseason)
Team W L Pct. GB
Atlanta Braves 94 68 .580 +6
St. Louis Cardinals 88 74 .543 —
Los Angeles Dodgers 86 76 .531 2
Milwaukee Brewers 83 79 .512 5
Philadelphia Phillies 81 81 .500 7
Arizona Diamondbacks 81 81 .500 7
Pittsburgh Pirates 79 83 .488 9
San Diego Padres 76 86 .469 12
New York Mets 74 88 .457 14
Miami Marlins 69 93 .426 19
Colorado Rockies 64 98 .395 24
Chicago Cubs 61 101 .377 27
Houston Astros 55 107 .340 33


Performance Against National League Opponents

2012 National League record

Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2012
Team AZ ATL CHC CIN COL HOU LAD MIA MIL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL WSH AL
Arizona – 2–5 5–4 2–5 9–7 6–0 12–6 5–3 3–3 3–4 2–4 3–4 7–11 9–9 1–5 2–4 9–6
Atlanta 5–2 – 3–4 1–5 6–1 4–2 3–3 14–4 3–3 12–6 12–6 3–2 4–3 3–4 5–1 8–10 8–10
Chicago 4–5 4–3 – 4–12 2–4 8–5 2–4 2–4 4–13 4–2 2–4 8–8 3–3 1–6 7–10 1–6 5–10
Cincinnati 5–2 5–1 12–4 – 5–1 10–5 2–4 3–3 9–6 6–2 3–4 11–7 6–2 4–3 6–7 2–5 7–8
Colorado 7–9 1–6 4–2 1–5 – 5–2 8–10 3–4 5–1 5–2 2–7 2–4 8–10 4–14 2–5 4–3 2–13
Houston 0–6 2–4 5–8 5–10 2–5 – 2–4 2–4 8–9 4–2 3–3 5–12 3–5 1–8 4–11 1–7 6–9
Los Angeles 6–12 3–3 4–2 4–2 10–8 4–2 – 4–2 1–6 4–3 5–2 6–1 11–7 8-10 6–5 4–2 6–9
Miami 3–5 4–14 4–2 3–3 4–3 4–2 2–4 – 4–4 4–12 8–10 1–4 5–1 5–2 2–5 9–9 5–13
Milwaukee 3–3 3–3 13–4 6–9 1–5 9–8 6–1 4–4 – 3–2 2–5 11–4 3–4 2–4 6–9 3–5 6–9
New York 4–3 6–12 2–4 2–6 2–5 2–4 3–4 12–4 2–3 – 10–8 5–2 4–3 4–4 4–3 4–14 8–7
Philadelphia 4–2 6–12 4–2 4–3 7–2 3–3 2–5 10–8 5–2 8–10 – 3–4 4–3 2–4 5–2 9-9 5–10
Pittsburgh 4–3 2–3 8–8 7–11 4–2 12–5 1–6 4–1 4–11 2–5 4–3 – 1–5 3–3 8–7 3–2 10–8
San Diego 11–7 3–4 3–3 2–6 10–8 5–3 7–11 1–5 4–3 3–4 3–4 5–1 – 6–12 3–3 2–3 8–7
San Francisco 9–9 4–3 6–1 3–4 14–4 8–1 10–8 2–5 4–2 4–4 4–2 3–3 12–6 – 3–3 1–5 7–8
St. Louis 5–1 1–5 10–7 7–6 5–2 11–4 5–6 5–2 9–6 3–4 3–4 7–8 3–3 3–3 – 3–4 8–7
Washington 4–2 10–8 6–1 5–2 3–4 7–1 2–4 9–9 5–3 14–4 9-9 2–3 3–2 5-1 4-3 – 10–8


Performance Against American League Opponents

Team W-L Record
Chicago White Sox 2-1
Cleveland Indians 1-2
Detroit Tigers 1-2
Kansas City Royals 4–2

Performance Against Divisions

Divisions Home Road Total Total Pct.
NL Central 26-12 19-20 45-32 .584
NL East 7-9 7-11 14-20 .412
NL West 13-5 8-10 21-15 .583
Interleague/AL Central 4-5 4-2 8-7 .533
TOTAL 50-31 38-43 88-74 .543

Players and Coaching Staff

See also: St. Louis Cardinals all-time roster

Opening Day lineup

Number Name Position
15 Rafael Furcal SS
3 Carlos Beltrán RF
7 Matt Holliday LF
12 Lance Berkman 1B
23 David Freese     3B
4 Yadier Molina C
19 Jon Jay CF
33 Daniel Descalso 2B
26 Kyle Lohse P

Roster

2012 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Minor Leagues

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Memphis Redbirds Pacific Coast League Ron Warner
AA Springfield Cardinals Texas League Mike Shildt
A Palm Beach Cardinals Florida State League Johnny Rodríguez
A Quad Cities River Bandits Midwest League Luis Aguayo
A-Short Season Batavia Muckdogs New York–Penn League Dann Bilardello
Rookie Johnson City Cardinals Appalachian League Oliver Marmol
Rookie GCL Cardinals Gulf Coast League Steve Turco

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Springfield

For more information about minor league teams, minor league players and the St. Louis Cardinals organization, see St. Louis Cardinals minor league players and:

St. Louis Cardinals Farm System Affiliates
2012 Prospect Watch
Cards organization preview, Top 20 Prospects, MLB.com (February 8, 2012)
Memphis Redbirds (Memphis Redbirds-AAA roster)
Springfield Cardinals (Springfield Cardinals-AA roster)

Final Regular Season Statistics

Composite scoring by inning

INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 TOTAL
CARDINALS 115 85 106 59 78 91 90 84 46 5 0 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 765
OPPONENTS 102 55 65 69 50 98 77 64 46 10 2 2 1 1 2 0 1 0 3 648

Batters

Notes: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B= Doubles; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts; GIDP = Grounded into double play; Avg. = Batting average; OBP = On-base percentage; SLG = Slugging percentage

Players HITTING statistics

=Team leader
Player G AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO GIDP Avg. OBP SLG
Matt Holliday 157 599 95 177 36 27 102 75 132 16 .295 .379 .497
Carlos Beltrán 151 547 83 147 26 32 97 65 124 9 .269 .346 .495
Yadier Molina 138 505 65 159 28 22 76 45 55 10 .315 .373 .501
David Freese 144 501 70 147 25 20 79 57 122 19 .293 .372 .467
Rafael Furcal † (leadoff -8/30) 121 477 69 126 18 5 49 44 57 7 .264 .325 .346
Allen Craig (utility/1b) 119 469 76 144 35 22 92 37 89 15 .307 .354 .522
Jon Jay 117 443 70 135 22 4 40 34 71 9 .305 .373 .400
Daniel Descalso 143 374 41  85 10 4 26 37 83 5 .227 .303 .324
Matt Carpenter 114 296 44  87 22 6 46 34 63 10 .294 .365 .463
Skip Schumaker 107 272 37  75 14 1 28 27 50 6 .276 .339 .368
Lance Berkman ( -9/7)  31   80 12  21  7 2  7 14 19 3 .263 .385 .450
Team Totals (10/3) 162 5,622 765 1,526 290 159 732 533 1,192 135 .271 .338 .421
NL Rank --- 1 2 1 6 7 2 4 13 2 2 1 4

BOLD = Lead NL
* not on active roster
** on personal leave; date and G missed
† on 15-day disabled list; date DL and G missed
†† on 60-day disabled list

TEAM HITTING statistics

Baseball Reference – 2012 St. Louis Cardinals

Starting pitchers

Note: GS = Games Started; IP = Innings Pitched; W = Wins; L = Loss; ERA = Earned Run Average; WHIP = (Walks + Hits) per Innings Pitched; HBP = Hit by Pitch; BF = Batters faced; O-AVG = Opponent Batting Ave.; O-OBP = Opponent On-Base Ave.; O-SLG = Opponent Slugging Ave.; R suppt = Runs support average from his team's batters per Games Started

Cardinals PITCHING statistics

Sortable TEAM PITCHING Statistics

=Team leader
Player GS IP W L ERA H HR BB SO WHIP HBP BF O-AVG O-OBP O-SLG R suppt
Kyle Lohse 33  211.0 16 3 2.86  192 19 38 143 1.09 4   864 .239 .274 .368 4.4
Adam Wainwright (2 ShO) 32  198.2 14 13 3.94  196 15 52 184 1.25 6   831 .259 .309 .392 4.5
Jake Westbrook (1 CG) 28  174.2 13 11 3.97  191 12 52 106 1.39 8   751 .282 .338 .391 5.1
Lance Lynn (as starter only) 29  169.0 17 5 3.67  157 15 62 174 1.30 9   710 .248 .322 .396 5.9
Jaime García 20  121.2  7 7 3.92 136  7 30  98 1.36 0   515 .289 .327 .402 4.2
Joe Kelly (as starter only) 16    91.1  4 6 3.74   97  9  32  59 1.41 2   391 .275 .338 .419 4.4
Chris Carpenter  3    17.0  0 2 3.71   16  2   3  12 1.12 2     72 .242 .296 .424 1.7
Shelby Miller (as starter only)  1     6.0  0 0 0.00    1  0   2    7 0.50 1     21 .056 .190 .056 1.0
Starters' Totals 162 989.1 71 47 3.62 986 79 271 783 1.27 32 4,155 .261 .313 .390 4.75

Bold = lead NL * not on active roster
† on 15-day disabled list; DL date and G missed
†† on 60-day disabled list

Relief pitchers

Notes: IP = Innings Pitched; ERA = Earned Run Average; WHIP = (Walks + Hits) per Innings Pitched

17-27; 3.90 ERA; 473.1 IP; 434 H; 212 R; 205 ER; 55 HR; 165 BB; 435 SO; 1.266 WHIP
42/64 SV/Opp; 115 Holds; 343/492 First Batter Retired (70%); 64/242 Inherited Runners Scored (26%) [51]

Relievers statistics

Pitcher G IP W L ERA H HR BB SO WHIP HBP BF O-AVG O-OBP O-SLG
Lance Lynn (2012 totals) 35  176.0 18 7 3.78  168 16 64 180 1.32 10   744 .253 .327 .401
Joe Kelly (2012 totals) 24  107.0  5 7 3.53  112 10 36   75 1.38  3   457 .271 .333 .407
Shelby Miller (2012 totals)  6   13.2  1 0 1.32     9   0  4   16 0.95  1     54 .184 .259 .204

Scheduling and Results

Home attendance

Year Attendance (games) AVG/game NL Rank
2012 3,262,109 (81) 40,273 4th of 16
2011 3,093,954 (81) 38,197 3rd of 16

2012 St. Louis Cardinals
2011 St. Louis Cardinals

Game log

As with all 30 teams, Major League Baseball released the Cardinals' 2012 schedule on September 14, 2011. The Cardinals' Opening Day game was away against the Miami Marlins on April 4[52] and was nationally televised by ESPN at 6 PM CDT.[53][54]

All game times for the following table were in Central Time Zone,[55] and were broadcast on Fox Sports Midwest, unless otherwise noted. Twenty games from April 9 to August 10 were blacked out for those watching Fox Sports Midwest from their AT&T U-verse cable because of a financial dispute between them continuing from the previous year.[56] Those games are marked with an asterisk (*) in the schedule below.

Legend
Cardinals Win Cardinals Loss Game Postponed / Tie
2012 Game Log

See also

Regular Season Schedule (calendar style)
Regular Season Schedule (sortable text)
National Broadcast Schedule (all teams), EDT

Cardinals Record When

(through October 3, final)

Situation W-L Record Pct.
Home 50-31 .617
Away 38-43 .469
Scoring first 58-26 .687
Opponent scores first 30-48 .385
Scoring more than 3 runs 76-19 .800
Scoring 3 runs 7-16 .304
Scoring fewer than 3 runs 5-39 .114
Leading after 7 innings 78-5 .940
Tied after 7 innings 5-12 .294
Trailing after 7 innings 5-57 .081
Leading after 8 innings 80-6 .930
Tied after 8 innings 4-10 .286
Trailing after 8 innings 4-58 .065
In errorless games 52-35 .598
In error-made games 36-39 .480
Out-hit opponents 73-13 .849
Same hits as opponents 4-7 .364
Out-hit by opponents 11-54 .169
Extra innings 6-12 .333
Shutouts 10-11 .476
One-run games 21-26 .447
One or Two-run games 28-43 .394
Monday games 13-4 .765
Tuesday games 14-11 .560
Wednesday games 17-9 .654
Thursday games 8-8 .500
Friday games 9-17 .346
Saturday games 12-14 .462
Sunday games 15-11 .577
Stat Number Total Pct.
Runs via HR 259 765 .339
Opp. Runs via HR 230 648 .355

Postseason

Wild Card Game

Friday, October 5, 2012

Main article: 2012 National League Wild Card Game
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis Cardinals 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 0 0 6 6 0
Atlanta Braves 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 12 3
WP: Kyle Lohse (1–0)   LP: Kris Medlen (0–1)   Sv: Jason Motte (1)
Home runs:
STL: Matt Holliday (1)
ATL: David Ross (1)

Time: 3:09 (:19 min. delay)
Attendance: 52,631[57]
Official Box Score

Division Series

Main article: 2012 National League Division Series

Game 1, October 7

3:07 p.m. (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Washington 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 8 2
St. Louis 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 1
WP: Ryan Mattheus (1–0)   LP: Mitchell Boggs (0–1)   Sv: Drew Storen (1)

Game 2, October 8

4:37 p.m. (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Washington 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 4 10 2
St. Louis 0 4 1 2 0 1 0 4 X 12 13 0
WP: Lance Lynn (1–0)   LP: Jordan Zimmermann (0–1)
Home runs:
WSH: Ryan Zimmerman (1), Adam LaRoche (1)
STL: Allen Craig (1), Daniel Descalso (1), Carlos Beltrán 2 (2)

Game 3, October 10

1:07 p.m. (EDT) at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 1 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 8 14 1
Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
WP: Chris Carpenter (1–0)   LP: Edwin Jackson (0–1)
Home runs:
STL: Pete Kozma (1)
WSH: None

Game 4, October 11

4:07 p.m. (EDT) at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
Washington 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 1
WP: Drew Storen (1-0)   LP: Lance Lynn (1-1)
Home runs:
STL: None
WSH: Adam LaRoche (2), Jayson Werth (1)

Game 5, October 12

8:37 p.m. (EDT) at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 4 9 11 0
Washington 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 11 0
WP: Jason Motte (1–0)   LP: Drew Storen (1–1)
Home runs:
STL: Daniel Descalso (2)
WSH: Ryan Zimmerman (2), Bryce Harper (1), Michael Morse (1)

Time: 3:49
Attendance: 45,966[58]
Official Box Score

Composite line score

2012 NLDS (3–2): St. Louis Cardinals over Washington Nationals

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis Cardinals 1 9 2 3 2 2 2 7 4 32 44 2
Washington Nationals 3 3 3 0 2 0 1 3 1 16 39 5
Total attendance: 228,293   Average attendance: 45,659

National League Championship Series

Main article: 2012 National League Championship Series

Game 1

Sunday, October 14, 2012 – 8:15 p.m. (EDT) at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California[59]

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 8 0
San Francisco 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 1
WP: Edward Mujica (1–0)   LP: Madison Bumgarner (0–1)   Sv: Jason Motte (1)
Home runs:
STL: David Freese (1), Carlos Beltrán (1)
SF: None

Game 1 was a nail biter. Carlos Beltrán hit his 14th career postseason homer and David Freese also went deep as the Cardinals took a 6–4 lead over the San Francisco Giants after six innings of the NL championship series opener. Freese hit a two-run homer in the second and Beltrán followed with one in the fourth as the Cardinals knocked out Madison Bumgarner with six runs in 3+2⁄3 innings.

Bumgarner breezed through a perfect first inning but ran into trouble in the second when Yadier Molina singled on an 0–2 pitch with one out. Freese then drove a 3–2 pitch over the wall in left-center to give the Cardinals a 2–0 lead. That gave Freese 25 career RBIs in the postseason and tied him with Molina for third most ever for the Cardinals. Bumgarner then couldn't make it out of the fourth. Descalso doubled and scored on Pete Kozma's double. Jon Jay added a two-out RBI single and Beltrán ended Bumgarner's night with the homer.

George Kontos got out of the fourth and Tim Lincecum pitched two hitless innings as he once again excelled in his new role out of the bullpen.

Lance Lynn struggled to hold onto that lead in his first postseason start after 10 career relief appearances. After starting the game with three hitless innings, Lynn ran into trouble with two outs and a runner on first in the fourth. Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt followed with singles to drive in San Francisco's first run. They both scored on Gregor Blanco's triple. Brandon Crawford followed with an RBI double to make it 6–4 and Lynn left after walking pinch-hitter Aubrey Huff. Joe Kelly got out of the jam when second baseman Daniel Descalso made a diving stop of Ángel Pagán's grounder up the middle.

No runs were scored for the remainder of the contest.

Game 2

Monday, October 15, 2012 – 8:07 p.m. (EDT) at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California[60]

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 2
San Francisco 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 X 7 12 0
WP: Ryan Vogelsong (1–0)   LP: Chris Carpenter (0–1)
Home runs:
STL: None
SF: Ángel Pagán (1)

Game 3

Wednesday, October 17, 2012 – 4:07 p.m. (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri[61]

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
San Francisco 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 1
St. Louis 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 X 3 6 0
WP: Kyle Lohse (1–0)   LP: Matt Cain (0–1)   Sv: Jason Motte (2)
Home runs:
SF: None
STL: Matt Carpenter (1)

A 3-hour 28 min rain delay was longer than the time of the game itself at 3:02.

Game 4

Thursday, October 18, 2012 – 8:07 p.m. (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri[62]

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
San Francisco 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 6 1
St. Louis 2 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 X 8 12 0
WP: Adam Wainwright (1-0)   LP: Tim Lincecum (0-1)
Home runs:
SF: Hunter Pence (1), Pablo Sandoval (1)
STL: None

The second-largest crowd of the year 47,062 saw the Cardinals win, 8-3. Adam Wainwright went seven strong innings, giving up only four hits and one run, the home run to Hunter Pence, walking none and striking out five.

Game 5

Friday, October 19, 2012 – 8:07 p.m. (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri[63]

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
San Francisco 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 5 6 0
St. Louis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1
WP: Barry Zito (1–0)   LP: Lance Lynn (0–1)
Home runs:
SF: Pablo Sandoval (2)
STL: None

Game 6

Sunday, October 21, 2012 – 7:45 p.m. (EDT) at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California[64]

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 1
San Francisco 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 6 9 1
WP: Ryan Vogelsong (2–0)   LP: Chris Carpenter (0–2)

Game 7

Monday, October 22, 2012 – 8:07 p.m. (EDT) at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California[65]

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 2
San Francisco 1 1 5 0 0 0 1 1 X 9 14 0
WP: Matt Cain (1–1)   LP: Kyle Lohse (1–1)
Home runs:
STL: None
SF: Brandon Belt (1)

Composite line score

2012 NLCS (4–3): San Francisco Giants over St. Louis Cardinals

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis Cardinals 2 3 2 4 2 3 3 0 0 19 50 6
San Francisco Giants 3 6 6 12 0 0 1 5 2 35 63 4
Total attendance: 311,326   Average attendance: 44,475

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Memphis Redbirds Pacific Coast League Ron Warner
AA Springfield Cardinals Texas League Mike Shildt
A Palm Beach Cardinals Florida State League Johnny Rodríguez
A Quad Cities River Bandits Midwest League Luis Aguayo
A-Short Season Batavia Muckdogs New York–Penn League Dann Bilardello
Rookie Johnson City Cardinals Appalachian League Oliver Marmol
Rookie GCL Cardinals Gulf Coast League Steve Turco

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Springfield

Draft selections

St. Louis Cardinals 2012 Draft Selections

References

  1. ^ "Matheny called 'perfect ' fit for Cardinals". STLtoday.com. November 14, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  2. ^ Cards retain Duncan, McGwire, Oquendo: Aldrete takes over as bench coach, Maloney new first-base coach, MLB.com (November 16, 2011)
  3. ^ St. Louis Cardinals' tweet, (December 2, 2011)
  4. ^ Not in the Cards: Pujols departs for Angels: Star opts for more lucrative 10-year deal in Southern California, MLB.com (December 8, 2011)
  5. ^ Albert Pujols, Baseball-Reference.com ('Salaries')
  6. ^ Former teammates stunned by Pujols' decision, MLB.com (December 8, 2011)
  7. ^ Furcal re-ups with Cardinals for two years, MLB.com (December 10, 2011)
  8. ^ Cardinals shaping roster for 2012, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (December 13, 2011)
  9. ^ Cardinals sign All-Star Beltran, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (December 22, 2011)
  10. ^ Molina opts for long-term deal with Redbirds: Catcher signs five-year, $75 million contract with mutual option, MLB.com (March 1, 2012)
  11. ^ Cardinals lay groundwork for more moves, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (December 15, 2011)
  12. ^ Cards invite 19 players to Major League camp, MLB.com (January 14, 2012)
  13. ^ Cardinals set 25-man roster for opening night, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (March 30, 2012)
  14. ^ Cardinals secure six series with win over Pirates, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (April 22, 2012)
  15. ^ Cardinals to retire La Russa's number: Former skipper will be honored before May 11 game vs. Braves, MLB.com (May 2, 2012)
  16. ^ Red-hot Beltran named NL Player of Week: Cardinals right fielder rapped six homers, had six-RBI game, MLB.com (May 14, 2012)
  17. ^ Wainwright throws first shutout since 2010, MLB.com (May 23, 2012)
  18. ^ In Beltran's return to NY, Cardinals get no-hit: Throwing 134 pitches, Santana first Mets pitcher to achieve feat, MLB.com (June 1, 2012)
  19. ^ Santana makes history against Cardinals, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 1, 2012)
  20. ^ Prewitt, Eric (June 12, 1990). "Ryan Express: 6th No-Hitter; At 43, Extends Record, Beats A's". The Washington Post. p. C1. Nolan Ryan...extended his major league record by pitching a sixth no-hitter...leading the Texas Rangers to a 5-0 triumph over the World Series champion Oakland Athletics
  21. ^ McCarron, Anthony (June 2, 2012). "FINALLY! After 50 seasons, Johan Amazes Mets by delivering franchise's first no-hitter". New York Daily News. p. 32. Santana got the Cardinals' David Freese to swing and miss at a changeup–what else?–for strike three, completing the first no-hitter in Mets' history in their 8,020th game, an 8−-0 victory over the world champion St. Louis Cardinals
  22. ^ Cards place Garcia on DL, bring back Salas, MLB.com (June 7, 2012)
  23. ^ "Beltran is first switch-hitter with 300 HRs, SBs: Outfielder stole second base in second inning on Friday". MLB.com. June 15, 2012.
  24. ^ Beltran, Furcal to start among four Cards All-Stars: Molina headed to fourth straight Midsummer Classic; Lynn a first-timer, MLB.com (July 1, 2012)
  25. ^ Beltran to be participant in Home Run Derby: Cardinals outfielder, and former Royal, to blast off at Kauffman Stadium on July 9, MLB.com (July 1, 2012)
  26. ^ Molina put on bereavement list, to miss ASG: Cruz starts behind plate Friday; Anderson recalled from Triple-A Memphis, MLB.com (July 7, 2012)
  27. ^ "Darvish and Freese win, going to All-Star Game". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. July 5, 2012.
  28. ^ "La Russa's last game is a first". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 11, 2012.
  29. ^ In La Russa's swan song, Cards send him out on top: Holliday, Furcal each notch hit, score run as NL cruises to 8-0 win vs AL, MLB.com (July 11, 2012)
  30. ^ La Russa relishes his final game from the dugout: Retired skipper goes out with a win at 2012 All-Star Game, MLB.com (July 11, 2012)
  31. ^ Carpenter shut down, to have surgery, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (July 3, 2012)
  32. ^ Cards' Carpenter to undergo season-ending surgery, MLB.com (July 3, 2012)
  33. ^ Rosenthal makes history as 2,000th Cardinal, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (July 18, 2012)
  34. ^ Cards win 12-0 with historic inning, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (July 21, 2012)
  35. ^ Cards tie club, MLB records with historic inning: St. Louis matches franchise mark with 12-run frame, which features seven doubles, MLB.com (July 22, 2012)
  36. ^ Mujica comes to Cards in deal with Marlins, MLB.com (July 31, 2012)
  37. ^ "Berkman on DL for 3rd time". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. August 3, 2012.
  38. ^ "Cards work 12 innings to regain Wild Card lead". MLB.com. September 16, 2012.
  39. ^ "Cardinals sign on with State College affiliate". MLB.com. September 17, 2012.
  40. ^ "Cards bringing Class A team back to Peoria". MLB.com. September 19, 2012.
  41. ^ "Freese, Molina homers help Lynn earn 16th win: Cards have five with at least 20 dingers for first time in club history". MLB.com. September 19, 2012.
  42. ^ a b "Carpenter no stranger to high-pressure spots". MLB.com. September 20, 2012.
  43. ^ "Cubs spoil Carp's return, win in 11th". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 21, 2012.
  44. ^ "Opening Day for Carp, Christmas for Cards". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 21, 2012.
  45. ^ "Carp's return impressive, but Cards stunned late: Right-hander allows five hits and two runs over five innings in return". MLB.com. September 21, 2012.
  46. ^ "Motte named NL Player of the Week for first time". MLB.com. September 24, 2012.
  47. ^ "Motte honored by NL". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 25, 2012.
  48. ^ "Wild Cards: St. Louis clinches late after loss". MLB.com. October 3, 2012.
  49. ^ "Cards head to playoffs". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 3, 2012.
  50. ^ "With Cards in, Miller to make starting debut". MLB.com. October 3, 2012.
  51. ^ "GAME INFORMATION ("Bullpen Briefs")" (PDF). St. Louis Cardinals. October 5, 2012. p. 4.
  52. ^ Cards' first game of '12 in Marlins' new park: Indians, White Sox and Royals visit in Interleague Play, MLB.com (September 14, 2011)
  53. ^ Cards will be in national spotlight, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (March 30, 2012)
  54. ^ ESPN to broadcast Cards' season opener, MLB.com (January 11, 2012)
  55. ^ "2011 Cardinals Schedule". Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  56. ^ 20 Cardinals games blacked out on AT&T U-verse, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (March 30, 2012)
  57. ^ "Call of the Wild: Cards earn berth in NLDS: St. Louis takes advantage of three Atlanta errors, infield fly ruling". MLB.com. October 5, 2012.
  58. ^ "Wizard of Koz: Late magic lifts Cards to NLCS--Shortstop's single caps four-run ninth as Redbirds stun Nationals". MLB.com. October 12, 2012.
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  60. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants – October 15, 2012 | MLB.com Play-by-Play". MLB.com. October 15, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  61. ^ "San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals – October 17, 2012 | MLB.com Play-by-Play". MLB.com. October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  62. ^ "San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals – October 18, 2012 | MLB.com Play-by-Play". MLB.com. October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  63. ^ "San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals – October 19, 2012 | MLB.com Play-by-Play". MLB.com. October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
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  65. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants – October 22, 2012 | MLB.com Play-by-Play". MLB.com. October 22, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
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