NL CENTRAL STANDINGS

TeamW-LGBStrk
Reds18-9-W2
Cubs17-101.0L1
Pirates16-112.0W2
Cardinals14-123.5L3
Brewers13-134.5L4

AL WEST STANDINGS

TeamW-LGBStrk
Rangers14-13-W1
Athletics14-13-L1
Mariners13-151.5W3
Angels12-162.5L2
Astros10-184.5L2

RECENT RESULTS (LAST 10)

DateOppH/AResult
Apr 25SEAHomeL 9-11
Apr 24SEAHomeL 2-3
Apr 22MIAAwayL 1-4
Apr 21MIAAwayW 5-3
Apr 20MIAAwayL 3-5
Apr 19HOUAwayW 7-5 (10)
Apr 18HOUAwayW 7-5
Apr 17HOUAwayW 9-4
Apr 15CLEHomeW 5-3
Apr 14CLEHomeW 6-5 (10)

STARTING PITCHERS

Michael McGreevy (RHP, STL)

2026 to date: 1-2, 3.29 ERA, 27.1 IP, 0.91 WHIP, 14.3% K, 4.8% BB across 5 starts. The profile is unchanged from the 2025 baseline (14.5% K, 5.0% BB, 2.90 K/BB, 95.2 IP) -- a contact-suppression starter who lives at the bottom of the zone (50.8% GB this year). Big watch-out: McGreevy's 2025 home ERA was 5.22 (50.0 IP) vs 3.55 on the road, and tonight is a home start.

Emerson Hancock (RHP, SEA)

2026 to date: 2-1, 2.83 ERA, 28.2 IP, 0.87 WHIP, 26.7% K, 3.8% BB across 5 starts. The K rate has jumped sharply from his 2025 baseline (16.6% K, 8.1% BB, 2.06 K/BB across 90.0 IP) -- if it's real, he is a different pitcher than scouting reports indicate. He has allowed 5 HR in 28.2 IP this year; his 2025 vs-LHB line (.262/.352/.486, 12 HR in 211 PA) is the matchup to attack.

EXPECTED LINEUPS

Cardinals (From active roster)

13 players listed from active roster pool. Actual game lineup will be 9 from this group.

PlayerPosBats
Burleson1BL
HerreraCR
WetherholtSSL
WalkerRFR
Fermín2BR
WinnSSR
ChurchLFL
Gorman2BL
PagésCR
Urías3BR
Saggese2BR
ScottCFL
PozoCR

Handedness: 8 RHB (Herrera, Walker, Fermín, Winn, Pagés, Urías, Saggese, Pozo), 5 LHB (Burleson, Wetherholt, Church, Gorman, Scott).

Mariners (From active roster)

13 players listed from active roster pool. Actual game lineup will be 9 from this group.

PlayerPosBats
RaleighCS
Young2BL
Joe1BR
CanzoneRFL
CrawfordSSL
Naylor1BL
RodríguezCFR
Rivas2BS
RaleyRFL
GarverCR
ArozarenaLFR
RefsnyderRFR
Wilson3BR

Handedness: 6 RHB (Joe, Rodríguez, Garver, Arozarena, Refsnyder, Wilson), 5 LHB (Young, Canzone, Crawford, Naylor, Raley).

INJURIES & ROSTER NOTES

No injury notes available in the data feed for this report. Both active rosters were confirmed via statsapi at report generation -- 26 STL, 26 SEA.

2A: BVP -- CARDINALS BATTERS VS OPPONENT STARTER

PlayerPAABHAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
Ramon Urias220.000.000.000001
Ivan Herrera110.000.000.000000
Victor Scott110.000.000.000000
Nolan Gorman110.000.000.000000
Alec Burleson110.000.000.000000

Small sample: Ramon Urias (2 PA), Ivan Herrera (1 PA), Victor Scott (1 PA), Nolan Gorman (1 PA), Alec Burleson (1 PA).

Five Cardinals have ever stepped in against Hancock and the combined line is 0-for-6 with 1 K. The total sample (6 PA across the lineup) is statistically meaningless -- the Cardinals are facing Hancock blind.

Bench note: Wetherholt, Walker, Fermín, Winn, Church, Pagés, Saggese, Pozo -- No data.

2B: BVP -- OPPONENT BATTERS VS CARDINALS STARTER

PlayerPAABHAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
Randy Arozarena331.333.333.333000
Cal Raleigh331.333.333.333001
Julio Rodriguez331.333.333.333001
Josh Naylor331.333.333.333001
Cole Young220.000.000.000000
Dominic Canzone210.000.000.000000

Small sample: Randy Arozarena (3 PA), Cal Raleigh (3 PA), Julio Rodriguez (3 PA), Josh Naylor (3 PA), Cole Young (2 PA), Dominic Canzone (2 PA).

Six Mariners have BvP history with McGreevy and four of them (Arozarena, Raleigh, Rodriguez, Naylor) are each 1-for-3 (.333) -- 3 PA samples are noise, not signal. Cole Young is 0-for-2, Canzone 0-for-1.

Bench note: Crawford, Garver, Refsnyder, Wilson, Joe, Raley, Rivas -- No data.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- CARDINALS

PlayerPAAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
Alec Burleson L419.296.353.478153259
Masyn Winn R374.251.309.36872371
Victor Scott L332.221.310.31753175
Ivan Herrera R328.268.343.399102466
Nolan Gorman L309.201.294.349937111
Jordan Walker R289.200.263.29142194
Pedro Pagés R276.225.264.36491272
Ramon Urias R273.233.278.36771757
Thomas Saggese R227.254.305.34011563
Yohel Pozo R126.217.254.3584616
José Fermín R59.280.379.420178
Nathan Church L51.114.216.1821314

Burleson is the lefty answer to Hancock -- 2025 vs RHP: .296/.353/.478 with 15 HR in 419 PA. Herrera (.268/.343/.399) is the right-handed counter. The drag is at the bottom: Walker (.200), Gorman (.201), Church (.114, 51 PA) all post weak 2025 vs-RHP lines -- if any of these three start, Hancock has a built-in escape route.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- OPPONENT

PlayerPAAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
Julio Rodriguez R574.268.329.4742637123
Randy Arozarena R558.231.346.3991957158
Cal Raleigh B547.238.367.5584287140
Josh Naylor L450.307.372.492174152
Dominic Canzone L229.283.329.472101354
Cole Young L190.207.298.29942133
Luke Raley L188.219.341.34241656
Mitch Garver R134.182.261.28941243
Leo Rivas B89.174.360.26121926
Rob Refsnyder R71.212.268.3482522
Will Wilson R42.162.225.1620316
Connor Joe R40.222.275.3060312

Naylor (.307/.372/.492 vs RHP, 2025) is the headline danger and the Mariners lean heavily lefty (5 LHB plus 2 switch including Raleigh). Raleigh is a 42-HR switch-hitter with a .558 SLG vs RHP -- McGreevy's biggest single-bat threat. The down-card lefties (Young .207, Wilson .162) can be navigated, but the top four bats all post elevated OBPs vs RHP.

2D: PITCHER PLATOON SPLITS

PitchervsPAAVGOBPSLGOPSHRK
Emerson Hancockvs LHB211.262.352.486.7481238
Emerson Hancockvs RHB192.269.325.383.652329
Michael McGreevyvs LHB190.318.368.543.861927
Michael McGreevyvs RHB210.225.255.325.550331

McGreevy's 2025 platoon split is dramatic: .861 OPS allowed to LHB vs .550 to RHB. SEA's lineup is built to exploit that -- 5 LHB plus switch-hitter Raleigh with a .558 2025 SLG vs RHP. Hancock's split runs the other way (.748 OPS to LHB, .652 to RHB), and STL has 5 LHB. Both starters are working into the platoon side that hurts them.

2D-HA: PITCHER HOME/AWAY SPLITS

PitcherSplitBFIPERAKBBHR
Emerson HancockAway21348.24.6232189
Emerson HancockHome19045.14.7635186
Michael McGreevyAway18845.23.552496
Michael McGreevyHome21250.05.2234116

Today's game is at Busch Stadium -- McGreevy pitching at home, where his 2025 ERA was 5.22 (50.0 IP) vs 3.55 on the road. The 1.67-run home/road delta on a 50.0 IP home sample is profile, not noise. Hancock is on the road today; his 2025 home/away ERAs were nearly identical (4.76/4.62), so venue is not his variable.

2E: TTO SPLITS (TIMES THROUGH ORDER)

PitcherTTOPAAVGSLGOPSHRKBB
Emerson HancockTTO1199.257.380.63753918
Emerson HancockTTO2132.239.419.65862112
Emerson HancockTTO372.339.629.968476
Michael McGreevyTTO1154.282.465.7475228
Michael McGreevyTTO2152.271.417.6884146
Michael McGreevyTTO394.241.379.6203226

Hancock's 2025 TTO line is the swing variable: .637 OPS (TTO1) -> .658 (TTO2) -> .968 (TTO3). The third pass is .331 OPS above his TTO1 baseline, with 4 HR in just 72 PA -- the largest TTO collapse on the card. If SEA leaves him in for a third pass, innings 6-7 are when the runs come.

McGreevy's 2025 TTO line is unusually inverted: .747 OPS (TTO1) -> .688 (TTO2) -> .620 (TTO3). Familiarity helps him -- the second and third passes are his best. The first inning is when he is hit hardest (.282 AVG / .465 SLG TTO1).

2F: INHERITED RUNNERS PROFILE

RelieverIRScoredStrand%
Kyle Leahy291162.1%
JoJo Romero26388.5%
Matt Svanson261350.0%
Gordon Graceffo11554.5%
Riley O'Brien10370.0%
Ryan Fernandez8450.0%
Michael McGreevy30100.0%

League average strand rate: ~68-72%. Romero (88.5% on 26 IR) is the elite arm -- protect him for the highest-leverage entry. Svanson (50.0%), Graceffo (54.5%), and Fernandez (50.0%) all sit below league average and below the staff median -- if any of them enter with traffic, expect runs. Leahy (62.1%) is the in-between option, and McGreevy's 100% on 3 IR is too small a sample to weight.

2G: BATTED BALL MATCHUP

Pitcher Batted Ball Profiles (Career)

PitcherBIPGB%FB%LD%
Emerson Hancock28045.7%28.2%25.4%
Michael McGreevy30749.2%25.7%24.4%

Hitter Batted Ball Results (Career) -- SEA

HitterGB AVGLD AVGFB AVG
Randy Arozarena.322.543.098
Dominic Canzone.326.615.064
Mitch Garver.266.632.074
Connor Joe.200.500.125
Josh Naylor.263.634.150
Cal Raleigh.264.667.056
Luke Raley.169.680.133
Rob Refsnyder.241.733.118
Leo Rivas.276.600.148
Julio Rodriguez.282.589.104
Will Wilson.333.778.105
Cole Young.254.564.062

Hancock is a 45.7% career GB pitcher, and the most dangerous SEA bats post huge career LD averages: Refsnyder .733, Raley .680, Raleigh .667, Naylor .634, Garver .632, Canzone .615. When Hancock leaves something flat against this group, it's a hit.

McGreevy (49.2% career GB) lives on the same approach. The matchup he wants: ground balls into Winn at SS (.994 fld%) and Pagés behind the plate. The matchup that hurts him: SEA's elevated 2025 FB rates from Raleigh (47.3%) and Wilson (44.2%) feed into his HR profile -- contact-management starters bleed homers when fly-ball bats are on the card.

2H: BATTERY PAIRING

CatcherGIPERAAVGOBPSLG
Pedro Pagés1480.24.24.266----
Jimmy Crooks28.29.35.385----
Yohel Pozo15.20.00.056----

Pagés is McGreevy's primary battery (14 G, 80.2 IP, 4.24 ERA, .266 AVG against) and is on tonight's active roster. Pozo (1 G, 5.2 IP, .056 AVG) is the backup option also on the active roster. Jimmy Crooks (2 G, 9.35 ERA) is NOT on tonight's active roster -- his row is historical context only and should not factor into game-planning. If Herrera (the third active catcher) starts, he has 0 IP paired with McGreevy in this dataset -- a fresh battery, with the calibration risk that implies on signal sequencing and pop times.

2I: BASERUNNING MATCHUP

SEA's running game is a top-of-table problem:

Arozarena -- 31 SB / 6 CS (83.8%).

Naylor -- 30 SB / 2 CS (93.8%). Stole 2 bases yesterday.

Rodriguez -- 30 SB / 6 CS (83.3%).

Raleigh -- 14 SB / 4 CS (77.8%).

Rivas -- 6 SB / 0 CS (100%).

McGreevy and his catcher have a four-runner top group to manage. Pagés (.994 fld%) has a strong defensive reputation, but the SEA tier is fast and patient.

2J: DEFENSIVE CONTEXT

PlayerPOSGDPEFld%
Victor ScottCF136360.982
Masyn WinnSS1296430.994
Pedro PagésC110650.994
Jordan WalkerRF108240.981
Ramon Urias3B782040.979
Nolan Gorman3B541160.950
Alec Burleson1B502740.990
Yohel PozoC46050.982
Alec BurlesonLF41001.000
Thomas Saggese2B352440.973
Alec BurlesonRF34110.983
Thomas SaggeseSS33710.988
Nolan Gorman2B28910.990
Ramon Urias2B26701.000
Thomas Saggese3B18020.939
Nathan ChurchCF18001.000
José Fermín2B15501.000
Ivan HerreraC14010.989
Nathan ChurchRF7010.833
Victor ScottRF7001.000
Nolan Gorman1B7401.000
Yohel Pozo1B6201.000
Nathan ChurchLF5001.000
José Fermín3B5001.000
Victor ScottLF4001.000
José FermínLF4001.000
Ivan HerreraLF4001.000
Ramon Urias1B3001.000
Pedro Pagés1B2101.000
Alec BurlesonP100--
Pedro Pagés2B1001.000
José FermínRF1001.000

STL's primary alignment is defensively strong up the middle: Scott CF (.982), Winn SS (.994), Pagés C (.994), Walker RF (.981). The vulnerable spots are Gorman at 3B (.950, 6 E in 54 G) and the secondary corner-OF assignments. With McGreevy's 50.8% GB rate this year, Winn and the IF are the primary run-savers.

2K: BALLPARK CONTEXT & HEAD-TO-HEAD

Busch Stadium plays as a neutral-to-pitcher-leaning venue historically. Recent head-to-head: STL 0-3 in 2025, 1-2 in 2024, 1-2 in 2023 -- the Cardinals are 2-7 against the Mariners across the last three seasons, and after dropping the first two of this set the sweep is on the table.

2L: BATTER K%/BB% PROFILE

Cardinals

PlayerPAKK%BBBB%
Alec Burleson5447914.5%397.2%
Masyn Winn53710219.0%346.3%
Victor Scott46311124.0%429.1%
Ivan Herrera4508418.7%439.6%
Nolan Gorman40213633.8%4711.7%
Jordan Walker39612631.8%297.3%
Ramon Urias3918822.5%276.9%
Pedro Pagés38910727.5%194.9%
Thomas Saggese2958328.1%165.4%
Yohel Pozo1682213.1%74.2%
José Fermín701014.3%811.4%
Nathan Church651827.7%34.6%

Gorman (33.8% 2025 K%) and Walker (31.8%) are the Cardinals' two extreme strikeout bats; Pagés (4.9% 2025 BB%) and Pozo (4.2%) walk the least. Versus Hancock's 26.7% 2026-to-date K rate (vs 16.6% 2025 baseline), the Cardinals' K-prone bats are the at-risk group.

Mariners

PlayerPAKK%BBBB%
Julio Rodriguez71015221.4%446.2%
Randy Arozarena70919126.9%649.0%
Cal Raleigh70518826.7%9713.8%
Josh Naylor6008313.8%488.0%
Mitch Garver2908027.6%3010.3%
Dominic Canzone2685922.0%207.5%
Cole Young2574718.3%2810.9%
Luke Raley2196429.2%198.7%
Rob Refsnyder2095425.8%2411.5%
Leo Rivas1112421.6%2018.0%
Will Wilson913437.4%77.7%
Connor Joe802025.0%78.8%

Wilson's 37.4% 2025 K% is the lineup-wide outlier on the SEA side. Raleigh's 13.8% 2025 BB% is the standout in the other direction -- a high-OBP, high-power switch-hitter is the worst kind of matchup for McGreevy's contact-management profile. Naylor's 13.8% 2025 K% paired with .307 vs RHP is the cleanest at-bat in the SEA order.

2M: BATTER BATTED BALL PROFILE

Cardinals

PlayerBIPGB%FB%LD%
Alec Burleson39842.0%33.4%24.6%
Masyn Winn37639.6%34.0%26.3%
Ivan Herrera28552.6%21.8%25.6%
Victor Scott25940.2%32.0%27.8%
Ramon Urias25345.1%29.2%25.7%
Pedro Pagés24344.9%30.9%24.3%
Jordan Walker23148.9%29.4%21.6%
Nolan Gorman19930.2%41.7%28.1%
Thomas Saggese18941.8%29.6%28.6%
Yohel Pozo13340.6%33.1%26.3%
José Fermín4637.0%32.6%30.4%
Nathan Church3767.6%21.6%10.8%

Church's 67.6% 2025 GB% is extreme but on a 37 BIP sample -- track but don't anchor. Gorman is the inverted profile (30.2% GB / 41.7% FB) -- a flyball-leaning bat against Hancock's 28.2% career FB rate. Herrera leans heavy GB (52.6%) -- ground balls into a SEA infield are low-leverage at-bats unless he punches one through.

Mariners

PlayerBIPGB%FB%LD%
Julio Rodriguez49351.1%27.2%21.7%
Josh Naylor47748.6%27.9%23.5%
Randy Arozarena42446.9%31.4%21.7%
Cal Raleigh37429.4%47.3%23.3%
Dominic Canzone19148.2%24.6%27.2%
Cole Young17139.2%38.0%22.8%
Mitch Garver17037.6%40.0%22.4%
Rob Refsnyder12247.5%27.9%24.6%
Luke Raley11451.8%26.3%21.9%
Leo Rivas7140.8%38.0%21.1%
Connor Joe5040.0%32.0%28.0%
Will Wilson4334.9%44.2%20.9%

Raleigh (29.4% 2025 GB / 47.3% FB) is the SEA collision with McGreevy's 49.2% career GB profile -- Raleigh hunts elevated pitches and McGreevy's escape is the bottom of the zone. Wilson is a similar shape (34.9% GB / 44.2% FB). The bulk of the SEA top of the order (Rodriguez 51.1% GB, Naylor 48.6%, Arozarena 46.9% in 2025) plays into McGreevy's preferred batted-ball mix -- ground balls to Winn and Urias.

2N: PITCHER K%/BB% PROFILE

PitcherIPKK%BBBB%K/BB
Michael McGreevy95.25814.5%205.0%2.90
Emerson Hancock90.06416.6%318.1%2.06

McGreevy: 2026 to date 14.3% K, 4.8% BB. 2025 baseline 14.5% K, 5.0% BB, 2.90 K/BB. He doesn't miss bats; he doesn't walk hitters; he wins with weak contact. Hancock: 2026 to date 26.7% K, 3.8% BB. 2025 baseline 16.6% K, 8.1% BB, 2.06 K/BB. The 2026 K rate is more than 10 percentage points above his 2025 baseline -- if it's real, Hancock is meaningfully better than scouting reports indicate; if it's variance, the 2025 K/BB profile says he leaves more pitches over the plate.

KEY MATCHUPS & WATCHLIST

1. Cal Raleigh vs McGreevy. Switch-hitter, .238/.367/.558 with 42 HR vs RHP in 2025, 47.3% 2025 FB rate, .667 LD AVG career. McGreevy's contact-management plan is built to suppress weak hitters; Raleigh is the wrong opponent for that approach. The 1-for-3 BvP is meaningless -- focus on the platoon and batted-ball profile.

2. Josh Naylor vs McGreevy. Hottest bat in the series (2-for-5, 2 SB yesterday). 2025 vs RHP: .307/.372/.492 with a 13.8% K rate -- the cleanest at-bat in the SEA order. Plus a 93.8% career SB success rate keeps every count situation live.

3. Burleson + Wetherholt vs Hancock. Hancock's 2025 vs-LHB line: .262/.352/.486, 12 HR in 211 PA. Burleson's 2025 vs RHP is .296/.353/.478. Wetherholt homered yesterday and starts in this group. The lefty stack is the most projectable Cardinals offensive lever.

4. The TTO3 window. Hancock 2025 TTO3: .339/.417/.629, 4 HR in 72 PA, .968 OPS. If he reaches innings 6-7, the door is open. The TTO1-to-TTO3 OPS gap is .331 -- the biggest single-pitcher swing on this card.

5. Bullpen fork. Romero (88.5% strand) is the Cardinals' elite leverage arm. Svanson (50.0%), Graceffo (54.5%), Fernandez (50.0%) all strand below league average. Liberatore went 3.1 IP / 5 ER yesterday, so today's bullpen leverage starts early -- which arm enters with traffic decides the middle innings.

Watchlist

-- McGreevy at home (5.22 ERA / 50.0 IP in 2025). The home/road delta is 1.67 ER. Today is at Busch.

-- Hancock 2026 K-rate spike. 26.7% K in 28.2 IP (2026) vs 16.6% across 90.0 IP (2025). If real, the K-prone STL bats (Gorman 33.8%, Walker 31.8%, Saggese 28.1%, Church 27.7%) are exposed.

-- SEA running game. Naylor + Arozarena + Rodriguez = 91 SB combined (career profile in this dataset). McGreevy is a slow-tempo arm. Expect at least one stolen-base attempt before the 5th.

-- Sweep on the line. SEA leads 2-0. STL is 2-7 vs SEA across 2023-2025. Today is the avoid-the-sweep game.

QUICK REFERENCE -- IN-GAME QUERIES

1. Show me Hancock's TTO3 line vs lefty-heavy lineups in 2025.

2. McGreevy at home: 2025 splits by month and opponent.

3. Naylor vs RHP, last 30 days, with stolen-base attempts.

4. JoJo Romero leverage index entries since the start of 2026.

5. Cal Raleigh batted-ball locations on flyballs hit to right-center.

6. Cardinals 5-run innings in 2026 -- frequency and pitcher exit timing.

7. Burleson vs RHP by FB% allowed band, 2025.

700 CLARK -- POWERED BY BASES.CHAT | HISTORICAL DATA THROUGH 2025