NL CENTRAL STANDINGS

TeamW-LGBStrk
Cubs27-16-L4
Brewers23-172.5L1
Cardinals24-182.5L1
Pirates23-204.0L1
Reds22-215.0L2

AL WEST STANDINGS

TeamW-LGBStrk
Athletics22-20-W1
Rangers21-221.5W2
Mariners21-232.0L1
Astros17-276.0W1
Angels16-287.0L3

RECENT RESULTS (LAST 10)

DateOppH/AResult
Jul 7MILHomeL 0-0
May 13OAKAwayL 2-6
May 12OAKAwayW 6-4
May 10SDAwayL 2-3 (10)
May 9SDAwayL 2-4
May 8SDAwayW 6-0
May 7SDAwayW 2-1
May 6MILHomeL 2-6
May 4MILHomeW 6-3
May 3LADHomeL 1-4

STARTING PITCHERS

Michael McGreevy (R) -- Cardinals

2026 to date: 3-2, 2.18 ERA, 0.86 WHIP across 8 starts (45.1 IP). 33 K / 10 BB. 19.6% K%, 6.0% BB%, 53.1% GB%. 5 HR allowed. He has been the steadier half of the Cardinals' rotation, and the road splits favor him today -- 3.55 ERA on the road in 2025 vs 5.22 at home (Rule 33).

Jacob Lopez (L) -- Athletics

2026 to date: 3-2, 6.11 ERA, 1.75 WHIP across 7 starts (35.1 IP). 28 K / 24 BB. 16.8% K%, 14.4% BB%, 31.2% GB%. 8 HR allowed. The 2025 baseline K/BB ratio of 3.05 has collapsed in 2026 -- the walks are the story. He has been substantially better at home (1.83 ERA in 2025 at Sutter Health Park context vs 5.03 on the road).

EXPECTED LINEUPS

Cardinals (Projected from 2026-05-13)

#PlayerPosBats2026 RISP AVG2026 RISP OPS
1Wetherholt2BL.310.800
2HerreraDHR.233.752
3Burleson1BL.321.871
4WalkerRFR.265.914
5Gorman3BL.227.666
6WinnSSR.211.593
7ChurchCFL.261.631
8SaggeseLFR.158.411
9PagésCR.154.476

Handedness: 5 RHB (Herrera, Walker, Winn, Saggese, Pagés), 4 LHB (Wetherholt, Burleson, Gorman, Church).

Athletics (From active roster)

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

PlayerPosBats
RookerDHR
CortesRFL
ThomasRFR
Hernaiz3BR
BolteRFR
McNeil2BL
HeimCS
ButlerRFL
Stefanic2BR
Kurtz1BL
LangeliersCR
SoderstromLFL
GelofCFR

Handedness: 7 RHB (Rooker, Thomas, Hernaiz, Bolte, Stefanic, Langeliers, Gelof), 5 LHB (Cortes, McNeil, Butler, Kurtz, Soderstrom).

INJURIES & ROSTER NOTES

Phase 2 did not run an external injury or storyline search for this game. The Cardinals lineup is projected from 2026-05-13; the Athletics lineup is from an active-roster pool of 13 position players. Both batting orders carry projection risk for today's first pitch.

2A: BVP -- CARDINALS BATTERS VS OPPONENT STARTER

No data available for this section.

No career BvP history exists for any Cardinals batter against Jacob Lopez -- the Cardinals are facing him blind. The matchup is decided by platoon, batted-ball, and TTO tendencies in Sections 2C through 2N.

Bench note: No significant bench BvP history.

2B: BVP -- OPPONENT BATTERS VS CARDINALS STARTER

No data available for this section.

No career BvP history exists for any Athletics batter against Michael McGreevy. McGreevy faces this lineup with no prior look on either side of the matchup.

Bench note: No significant bench BvP history.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- CARDINALS

PlayerPAAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
Masyn Winn R163.255.313.34921131
Alec Burleson L127.271.310.3983720
Ivan Herrera R124.330.455.66091918
Pedro Pagés R113.243.292.3592735
Jordan Walker R107.255.318.3472832
Nolan Gorman L93.220.301.43951025
Thomas Saggese R68.273.279.3481120
Nathan Church L14.417.417.500004

Lopez throws left, so the Cardinals' 5 RHB matter most. Herrera leads the 2025 vs-LHP table at .330 / .455 / .660 in 124 PA -- the cleanest matchup advantage on either side of the card. Saggese (.273 in 68 PA) and Walker (.255 in 107 PA) round out the RHB triangle, while Pagés has the most exposed line at .243 / .292.

The Cardinals' 4 LHB face a lefty-on-lefty disadvantage. Burleson (.271 in 127 PA) and Gorman (.220, but with 5 HR and a .439 SLG) are the higher-floor lefties; Wetherholt has no 2025 LHP sample in this dataset (rookie). Church's .417 line is a 14-PA flag -- small sample, do not lean on it.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- OPPONENT

PlayerPAAVGOBPSLGHRBBK
Brent Rooker R539.255.322.4802644129
Lawrence Butler L507.246.325.4201753130
Tyler Soderstrom L478.278.356.4912047103
Shea Langeliers R400.247.310.493213477
Jeff McNeil L355.245.330.426113539
Nick Kurtz L336.336.439.714275197
Jonah Heim B301.214.273.33072257
Darell Hernaiz R140.224.266.2801918
Carlos Cortes L94.303.319.5514320
Zack Gelof R75.194.257.3132630
Colby Thomas R63.203.226.2370124
Michael Stefanic R20.222.300.222021

McGreevy throws right, so the Athletics' 5 LHB are the trouble zone. Kurtz leads the table at .336 / .439 / .714 in 336 PA with 27 HR -- the lineup's clearest power threat against any RHP, and McGreevy specifically has a .911 OPS vs LHB profile in 2025 (Section 2D). Soderstrom (.278 / .491) and Butler (.246 / .420 with 17 HR) round out the LHB power that McGreevy is built to give up.

The RHB pocket is McGreevy-friendly: Hernaiz at .224 / .266 and the small-sample RHBs (Gelof .194 in 75 PA, Thomas .203 in 63 PA) are the swing-and-miss bats Section 2L will flag as elevated K%.

2D: PITCHER PLATOON SPLITS

PitchervsPAAVGOBPSLGOPSHRK
Jacob Lopezvs RHB314.234.322.428.7501488
Jacob Lopezvs LHB85.216.301.311.612125
Michael McGreevyvs LHB190.318.368.543.911927
Michael McGreevyvs RHB210.225.255.325.580331

Mirror-image splits. Lopez owns LHB in 2025 (.612 OPS, only 1 HR allowed in 85 PA) but RHB hit him for a .750 OPS with 14 HR -- and the Cardinals start 5 RHB. McGreevy is the opposite shape: a .580 OPS vs RHB but a .911 OPS allowed to LHB. Each starter's weakness lines up with the other lineup's primary handedness pocket.

The early-inning script writes itself: McGreevy's hardest at-bats come against Kurtz / Soderstrom / Butler / McNeil; Lopez's hardest at-bats come against Herrera / Walker / Saggese.

2D-HA: PITCHER HOME/AWAY SPLITS

PitcherSplitBFIPERAKBBHR
Jacob LopezAway21448.15.0351229
Jacob LopezHome18544.11.8362156
Michael McGreevyAway18845.23.552496
Michael McGreevyHome21250.05.2234116

Today's game is at Sutter Health Park -- McGreevy pitching away, Lopez pitching at home. Both are in their stronger context: McGreevy's 2025 away ERA was 3.55 vs 5.22 at home; Lopez's 2025 home ERA was 1.83 vs 5.03 on the road. The split-vs-split is a near-wash on environment.

Caveat: the Athletics' 2025 home park (Oakland Coliseum) is not the same building as 2026's Sutter Health Park (Sacramento). Lopez's 1.83 home figure is the only road-vs-home signal in the dataset, but the venue under which it was earned differs from today's. Treat the home-edge claim as suggestive rather than ironclad.

2E: TTO SPLITS (TIMES THROUGH ORDER)

PitcherTTOPAAVGSLGOPSHRKBB
Jacob LopezTTO1184.223.369.69964921
Jacob LopezTTO2153.268.471.81174813
Jacob LopezTTO362.158.333.5592163
Michael McGreevyTTO1154.282.465.7925228
Michael McGreevyTTO2152.271.417.7154146
Michael McGreevyTTO394.241.379.6773226

Lopez has a sharp second-pass cliff. 2025 TTO1 line: .223 / .699 OPS. 2025 TTO2: .268 / .811 OPS. 2025 TTO3: .158 / .559. The vulnerability is the second pass through the order -- innings 4-6 -- after which the sample shrinks (62 PA) and the line collapses. The Cardinals' opening is to push his pitch count and reach TTO2 with their best bats.

McGreevy walks the opposite line: he is at his most hittable in the first pass (.282 / .792 OPS in 154 PA) and improves steadily through the order (.271 / .715, then .241 / .677). The earliest innings carry the most damage risk for the Cardinals' starter.

2F: INHERITED RUNNERS PROFILE

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

League average strand rate is in the 68-72% range. Romero (88.5%) is the trustworthy bridge; O'Brien (70.0%) is at league average. Svanson (50.0%) and Graceffo (54.5%) are below-average IR closers -- the manager's leverage decision matters when the runners get there.

Leahy's 62.1% on 29 inherited is a below-average mark; he is more of a multi-inning long arm than a leverage stranding arm. If McGreevy walks the LHB tightrope into a jam, Romero is the cleanest exit; if Romero is unavailable, the strand-rate drop-off is significant.

2G: BATTED BALL MATCHUP

Pitcher Batted Ball Profiles (Career)

PitcherBIPGB%FB%LD%
Jacob Lopez22628.3%41.6%28.3%
Michael McGreevy30749.2%25.7%24.4%

Hitter Batted Ball Results (Career) -- OAK

HitterGB AVGLD AVGFB AVG
Lawrence Butler.251.582.110
Carlos Cortes.200.900.050
Zack Gelof.450.455.000
Jonah Heim.175.559.120
Darell Hernaiz.216.474.118
Nick Kurtz.291.790.103
Shea Langeliers.252.633.079
Jeff McNeil.152.645.053
Brent Rooker.244.644.102
Tyler Soderstrom.246.697.109
Michael Stefanic.222.500.000
Colby Thomas.259.846.120

McGreevy is a 2025 ground-ball pitcher (49.2% GB%, against a 25.7% FB%). He works under-the-bat. That collides with an Athletics group whose ground-ball averages are pedestrian (Kurtz .291 is the highest, Heim and McNeil under .200) and whose line-drive contact is elite (Kurtz .790, Soderstrom .697, McNeil .645, Rooker .644). McGreevy's path to controlling damage runs through inducing weak grounders -- the line-drive lottery is where the .911 OPS-vs-LHB issue gets paid out.

Lopez is a fly-ball pitcher (41.6% FB%, 28.3% GB%). Against a group of Cardinals whose 2025 line-drive ABs are not in the JSON, the cross-reference is to 2M -- Lopez's fly-ball lean and 8 HR allowed in 35.1 IP this year are the homer-leakage angle.

2H: BATTERY PAIRING

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

Today's scheduled catcher is Pedro Pagés (active roster, projected to start). His McGreevy pairing is the only meaningful sample on the table: 14 G, 80.2 IP, 4.24 ERA, .266 AVG. This is the established battery -- familiar pop time, familiar sequencing.

Jimmy Crooks is not on the current active roster and the 2 G / 9.35 ERA line reflects prior-year work. Yohel Pozo is on the active roster as the backup catcher (1 G, 5.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, .056 AVG -- one-game sample). With Pagés starting, the pairing is the well-trodden one.

2I: BASERUNNING MATCHUP

The Athletics carry real running threats into a Pagés battery (Section 2H). Career-track stolen-base profile from 2025:

-- Lawrence Butler: 22 SB, 7 CS, 75.9% success. Volume leader.

-- Tyler Soderstrom: 8 SB, 3 CS, 72.7% success.

-- Shea Langeliers: 7 SB, 1 CS, 87.5% success. High-efficiency runner for a catcher.

-- Brent Rooker: 6 SB, 1 CS, 85.7% success.

-- Jonah Heim: 3 SB, 0 CS, 100% success. Lower volume but spotless.

-- Jeff McNeil: 3 SB, 0 CS, 100% success.

-- Darell Hernaiz: 3 SB, 4 CS, 42.9% success. Aggression without efficiency.

-- Nick Kurtz: 2 SB, 1 CS, 66.7% success.

-- Colby Thomas: 2 SB, 1 CS, 66.7% success.

-- Zack Gelof: 1 SB, 2 CS, 33.3% success.

Butler is the live threat to test Pagés if Lopez's walk parade puts him on base. The Langeliers / Rooker tier is a credible follow-on if McGreevy is slow to the plate.

2J: DEFENSIVE CONTEXT

PlayerPOSGDPEFld%
Masyn WinnSS1296430.994
Pedro PagésC110650.994
Jordan WalkerRF108240.981
Nolan Gorman3B541160.950
Alec Burleson1B502740.990
Alec BurlesonLF41001.000
Thomas Saggese2B352440.973
Alec BurlesonRF34110.983
Thomas SaggeseSS33710.988
Nolan Gorman2B28910.990
Thomas Saggese3B18020.939
Nathan ChurchCF18001.000
Ivan HerreraC14010.989
Nathan ChurchRF7010.833
Nolan Gorman1B7401.000
Nathan ChurchLF5001.000
Ivan HerreraLF4001.000
Pedro Pagés1B2101.000
Alec BurlesonP100--
Pedro Pagés2B1001.000

Winn at SS (.994 Fld%, 64 DP in 129 G) is the elite middle-infield anchor. Pagés at C (.994 Fld%, 110 G) is the established battery. Burleson at 1B (.990 in 50 G) is steady. With McGreevy a 49.2% career ground-ball pitcher, the infield work matters.

Two unusual placements to flag for today. Wetherholt is starting at 2B but does not appear in the 2025 defense table at any position (rookie / no logged sample in this dataset). Saggese is projected at LF but his 2025 sample is entirely at 2B (35 G), SS (33 G), and 3B (18 G) -- no LF reps on record. A fly-ball lefty (Lopez, 41.6% FB%) putting balls in the air to an unfamiliar LF is a quiet risk variable.

2K: BALLPARK CONTEXT & HEAD-TO-HEAD

Sutter Health Park (Sacramento) is the Athletics' temporary home through their relocation. The JSON does not carry a numeric park factor for this venue, so today's environment is best read qualitatively: this is the same building where the Cardinals split the first two games of the series, and Lopez's 1.83 home ERA in 2025 was earned in a different building.

Recent head-to-head: Cardinals won the season series 2-1 in 2024 and 2-1 in 2023. The current series stands at 1-1 entering today's rubber game.

2L: BATTER K%/BB% PROFILE

Cardinals

PlayerPAKK%BBBB%
Alec Burleson5447914.5%397.2%
Masyn Winn53710219.0%346.3%
Ivan Herrera4508418.7%439.6%
Nolan Gorman40213633.8%4711.7%
Jordan Walker39612631.8%297.3%
Pedro Pagés38910727.5%194.9%
Thomas Saggese2958328.1%165.4%
Nathan Church651827.7%34.6%

Five Cardinals carry a 2025 K% at or above the 25% high-K flag: Gorman (33.8%), Walker (31.8%), Saggese (28.1%), Church (27.7%), Pagés (27.5%). Of those five, four also carry a 2025 BB% below the 6% low-walk flag (Pagés 4.9%, Church 4.6%, Saggese 5.4%, Walker 7.3% is just above). Against a Lopez whose 2026 BB% is 14.4%, the discipline gap is the lineup's leverage point -- but the swing-happy bottom half can let him off the hook.

Athletics

PlayerPAKK%BBBB%
Brent Rooker69815522.2%659.3%
Lawrence Butler63017928.4%599.4%
Tyler Soderstrom62414122.6%558.8%
Shea Langeliers52310319.7%366.9%
Nick Kurtz48815130.9%6312.9%
Jeff McNeil4625511.9%4910.6%
Jonah Heim4338820.3%327.4%
Darell Hernaiz1972412.2%178.6%
Colby Thomas1324937.1%75.3%
Zack Gelof1014645.5%76.9%
Carlos Cortes992020.2%33.0%
Michael Stefanic25312.0%312.0%

Extreme K% bats stand out: Gelof 45.5%, Thomas 37.1%, Kurtz 30.9% in 2025. Butler at 28.4% rounds out the strikeout-prone group. Kurtz pairs his K% with an elite 12.9% BB% -- he is the rare bat that earns the count, then crushes when he connects. McNeil is the contact outlier at 11.9% K%.

For McGreevy (14.5% 2025 K%, 5.0% 2025 BB%), the 2025 baseline is contact-and-control over swing-and-miss. The Athletics lineup is built to either chase (Gelof / Thomas / Cortes) or punish (Kurtz / Butler). The first group is the strikeout pile; the second group is the homer risk.

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%
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%
Nathan Church3767.6%21.6%10.8%

Gorman is the only Cardinals 2025 fly-ball lean (41.7% FB%, 30.2% GB%) -- a clean profile match against Lopez's 41.6% FB% lean and 8 HR allowed in 2026. Herrera (52.6% GB%) and Walker (48.9% GB%) are ground-ball-leaning; their damage path on a fly-ball lefty is the rare elevated mistake. Church's 67.6% GB rate in a tiny 37-BIP sample is the most extreme on the table.

Athletics

PlayerBIPGB%FB%LD%
Brent Rooker44139.9%33.3%26.8%
Tyler Soderstrom39451.5%23.4%25.1%
Lawrence Butler36848.6%24.7%26.6%
Shea Langeliers34741.2%32.9%25.9%
Jeff McNeil33137.8%34.1%28.1%
Jonah Heim29442.9%34.0%23.1%
Nick Kurtz23344.2%29.2%26.6%
Darell Hernaiz14650.7%23.3%26.0%
Carlos Cortes7042.9%28.6%28.6%
Colby Thomas6541.5%38.5%20.0%
Zack Gelof4445.5%29.5%25.0%
Michael Stefanic1947.4%31.6%21.1%

Cross-reference to Section 2G: McGreevy's 2025 49.2% GB% pitches into a heavily ground-ball-prone OAK group -- Soderstrom (51.5%), Hernaiz (50.7%), Butler (48.6%), Stefanic (47.4%). The 6+3-4 path is real if McGreevy can get under the bat. Rooker (39.9% GB%, 33.3% FB%) and Langeliers (41.2% GB%, 32.9% FB%) are the more balanced power threats. Thomas's 2025 38.5% FB profile against a ground-ball righty is a low-percentage matchup for him.

2N: PITCHER K%/BB% PROFILE

PitcherIPKK%BBBB%K/BB
Michael McGreevy95.25814.5%205.0%2.90
Jacob Lopez92.211328.3%379.3%3.05

McGreevy: 2026 to date 19.6% K% / 6.0% BB%. 2025 baseline 14.5% K% / 5.0% BB% / 2.90 K/BB ratio. Both seasons paint the same picture -- elite control, modest strikeouts, the K/BB carries through contact suppression rather than swing-and-miss.

Lopez: 2026 to date 16.8% K% / 14.4% BB%. 2025 baseline 28.3% K% / 9.3% BB% / 3.05 K/BB ratio. The K rate has cratered and the walks have nearly doubled this year -- the 3.05 K/BB foundation has collapsed in 2026. That is the entire story of his 6.11 ERA: 2025's good lefty is throwing 2026's wild lefty.

KEY MATCHUPS & WATCHLIST

Ivan Herrera vs Jacob Lopez. Herrera is .330 / .455 / .660 vs LHP in 2025 (124 PA, 9 HR). Lopez vs RHB in 2025: .234 / .322 / .428 (.750 OPS). Herrera's 18.7% 2025 K% and 9.6% 2025 BB%, paired with a 52.6% 2025 GB%, meet a fly-ball lefty (2025 FB% 41.6%) who is walking 14.4% in 2026. The matchup tilts every direction toward Herrera.

Nick Kurtz vs Michael McGreevy. Kurtz vs RHP in 2025: .336 / .439 / .714 with 27 HR in 336 PA. McGreevy vs LHB in 2025: .318 / .368 / .543 (.911 OPS). The largest single-matchup mismatch on the card, and Kurtz is coming off yesterday's grand slam off Liberatore. The .790 career LD AVG is the kicker -- when he squares it, it lands.

Pedro Pages vs Jacob Lopez (low-walk bat vs walk-prone lefty). Pages is .243 vs LHP in 2025 with the lineup's lowest 2025 BB% (4.9%) and a 27.5% K%. Against a Lopez who has issued 24 BB in 35.1 IP this year, Pages is the rare hitter who can let him off the hook on a chase pitch.

Brent Rooker vs Michael McGreevy. Rooker is .255 / .322 / .480 vs RHP in 2025 (539 PA, 26 HR), with a 22.2% K% and 9.3% BB%. Against McGreevy's 14.5% K% / 5.0% BB% control-first 2025 profile, Rooker is the leverage bat after the LHB pocket -- the secondary power threat if Kurtz / Soderstrom / Butler set the table.

QUICK REFERENCE -- IN-GAME QUERIES

1. How has Ivan Herrera performed against Jacob Lopez in their career?

2. How has Michael McGreevy fared against Nick Kurtz in their career?

3. How has Lawrence Butler performed against JoJo Romero in their career?

4. What are Jacob Lopez's third-time-through-the-order splits in 2025?

5. What are Nick Kurtz's splits vs RHP in 2025?

6. How often does JoJo Romero strand inherited runners in 2025?

7. What is the home run park factor at Sutter Health Park in 2025?

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