Player	Pos	Bats
Sánchez	C	R
Rosario	3B	R
Volpe	SS	R
Wells	C	L
Rice	1B	L
Domínguez	RF	S
Chisholm	2B	L
Caballero	SS	R
Schuemann	LF	R
Goldschmidt	1B	R
McMahon	3B	L
Jones	CF	L
Grisham	CF	L

Handedness: 6 RHB (Sánchez, Rosario, Volpe, Caballero, Schuemann, Goldschmidt), 6 LHB (Wells, Rice, Chisholm, McMahon, Jones, Grisham), 1 SHB (Domínguez).

INJURIES & ROSTER NOTES

Cardinals: No active injuries on this report.

Yankees: Max Fried was activated from the injured list on July 22 (not pitching tonight). Cody Bellinger was placed on the IL on July 26 with a left hamstring strain and is not available for this series.

2A: BVP -- CARDINALS BATTERS VS OPPONENT STARTER

No data available for this section.

No Cardinals batter has recorded a plate appearance against Schlittler in the historical record. This matchup begins tonight without precedent data — all inferences must come from broader splits rather than direct career BvP history.

2B: BVP -- OPPONENT BATTERS VS CARDINALS STARTER

Small sample: Ryan McMahon (5 PA).

McMahon's 5-PA sample has no predictive value — 1-for-5 with 2 strikeouts and no walks is a data point, not a tendency. Treat this section as a blank slate tonight; the BvP record adds no meaningful edge.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- CARDINALS

2026 companion columns: sample floor is 60 PA vs this hand (below floor renders SSS in the table above). The 2026 column never leads in this section -- 2025 vs-hand always leads, regardless of 2026 sample size.

Burleson leads the Cardinals' left-handed group against right-handed pitching — .296/.353/.478 in 2025, with a .941 OPS in 2026 (330 PA). Nootbaar and Winn are productive but unspectacular in this split. The bottom of the order is a different story: Church (.114/.216/.182), Crooks (.108/.132/.162), and Walker's platoon mark (.200/.263/.291 vs RHP) are all below average. Schlittler has the profile to make those bottom-order slots pay.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- OPPONENT

2026 companion columns: sample floor is 60 PA vs this hand (below floor renders SSS in the table above). The 2026 column never leads in this section -- 2025 vs-hand always leads, regardless of 2026 sample size.

Ben Rice is the name to watch in the Yankees' left-handed group against McGreevy — .269/.356/.504 vs RHP in 2025 and a .982 OPS in 2026 (296 PA). Grisham adds another capable LHB bat (.254/.364/.506). McMahon's high strikeout rate (32.3% K%) makes him more manageable despite the platoon edge. Of the six probable LHBs, Rice and Grisham represent the highest upside when exploiting McGreevy's known weakness.

2D: PITCHER PLATOON SPLITS

McGreevy: The gap is real and large. In 2025, left-handed batters posted a .911 OPS against him — .331 points higher than right-handers (.580). His 2026 improvement vs LHB (down to .721) is the encouraging part; the gap still exists. With six probable LHBs in the Yankees lineup, this is the central analytical variable of the game.

Schlittler: Minimal platoon differential in both years. Left-handers post a .623 OPS (2025) and .570 (2026); right-handers .680 and .547. The Cardinals' six left-handed hitters face a pitcher with no meaningful exploitable platoon gap — the lineup construction advantage the Cardinals' LHB-heavy order was built to create simply does not exist tonight.

2D-HA: PITCHER HOME/AWAY SPLITS

McGreevy pitched better away from home in 2025 (3.55 ERA away, 5.22 home), with the split narrowing in 2026 (3.88 away, 3.28 home). Tonight he pitches on the road at Yankee Stadium — his historical comfort zone, though the 2026 advantage has shifted toward home.

Schlittler has been dramatically better on the road in 2026: 1.10 ERA in 89.2 road innings versus 3.83 ERA at home (47.0 IP). Tonight he pitches at Yankee Stadium — the one split that tilts slightly in the Cardinals' direction. His 2025 marks were nearly identical home/away, so the 2026 home/road gap may reflect sample variation rather than a durable tendency.

2E: TTO SPLITS (TIMES THROUGH ORDER)

McGreevy gets better as a game progresses — .792 OPS allowed in the first time through the order, improving to .715 and .677 in subsequent turns. The first time through is his most exposed window, which matters tonight because the Yankees' LHB core will see him early and at his most vulnerable.

Schlittler runs the opposite direction: batters warm up against him as the game progresses (.585 TTO1, .687 TTO2, .699 TTO3). The Cardinals' best chance at offense comes later in games — if they can hang around long enough to face him a third time, the gap closes meaningfully.

2F: INHERITED RUNNERS PROFILE

McGreevy shows a 100.0% strand rate as a starter entering relief in 2025 (3 IR, 0 scored) — well above the 68.8% league average, though the sample is small. Among the Cardinals' primary relievers, Graceffo (54.5%) is the inherited-runner concern if he's called upon tonight; O'Brien (70.0%) performs closer to average. Leahy (62.1%) is below the league mark across a meaningful sample.

2G: BATTED BALL MATCHUP

Pitcher Batted Ball Profiles (Career)

Hitter Batted Ball Results (Career) -- NYY

McGreevy generates grounders at a 49.2% rate — above the 47.1% league average. That ground-ball tendency pairs poorly with a Yankees lineup where several players post high line-drive averages: Domínguez (.685 LD AVG), Goldschmidt (.713), and Rosario (.694). McGreevy needs to generate weak contact, not line drives, to navigate this group.

Schlittler's elevated line-drive rate (31.3% LD%, versus 24.4% average) means Cardinals hitters who make contact have real base-hit potential. Burleson, Nootbaar, and Winn all have balanced batted-ball profiles — they can spray line drives if they put the ball in play against him.

2H: BATTERY PAIRING

Tonight's battery is McGreevy and Jimmy Crooks. The pairing spans only 2 starts and 8.2 innings, with a 9.35 ERA in that sample. McGreevy's primary pairing in 2025 was with Pedro Pagés across 14 starts (80.2 IP, 4.24 ERA). The shift to Crooks tonight represents an unproven combination by the numbers — thin shared experience heading into a road game at Yankee Stadium against a lineup with multiple stolen-base threats.

2I: BASERUNNING MATCHUP

The Yankees present a genuine stolen base threat. José Caballero leads with 49 steals at an 81.7% success rate; Jazz Chisholm has 31 steals at 79.5%; Jasson Domínguez has 23 at 82.1%; Anthony Volpe has 18 at 69.2%. Four baserunners with active steal tendencies means McGreevy and Crooks need to stay attentive — a battery pairing without a deep working relationship is at added risk when the running game is active.

2J: DEFENSIVE CONTEXT

Masyn Winn at shortstop anchors the Cardinals' infield defense — .994 fielding percentage across 129 games. Lars Nootbaar in left field has been flawless in his primary position (1.000, 107 G). Jimmy Crooks at catcher has also been error-free in 2026 (1.000, 14 G) — relevant context given the running threats New York will present to the Crooks–McGreevy battery tonight.

2K: BALLPARK CONTEXT & HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Cardinals won seven of nine against New York from 2022 through 2024 before losing all three meetings in 2025. This series at Yankee Stadium opens the 2026 chapter — St. Louis carries the better historical record but was swept the last time these teams met.

2L: BATTER K%/BB% PROFILE

Cardinals

Walker (31.8% K%) and Crooks (37.0% K%) are the swing-and-miss liabilities facing Schlittler's 27.6% strikeout rate. Church (27.7% K%) adds a third strikeout-prone bat at the bottom of the order. Schlittler's 10.2% BB% gives patient Cardinals hitters — Nootbaar (11.0% BB%) and Herrera (9.6%) — a route to base.

Yankees

The Yankees' strikeout profile is elevated across the roster: McMahon (32.3%), Chisholm (27.9%), Caballero (26.5%), Wells (26.4%), Domínguez (26.8%), and Volpe (25.2%) all exceed the 22.2% league average. McGreevy's 14.5% strikeout rate is well below average — he needs weak contact and ground balls, not strikeouts, to work through this lineup. That makes his platoon gap even more dangerous: he cannot simply overpower left-handed hitters when location misses.

2M: BATTER BATTED BALL PROFILE

Cardinals

Church's 67.6% grounder rate is a mismatch against Schlittler's 38.1% GB% — Church puts more balls on the ground than Schlittler induces. Crooks' elevated fly-ball rate (44.4%) against a pitcher who allows line drives (31.3% LD%) is a more interesting profile matchup. Burleson and Nootbaar have balanced contact profiles that pair well with Schlittler's elevated LD%.

Yankees

Several Yankees hitters post high line-drive averages that create risk against McGreevy's ground-ball tendency. Domínguez (.685 LD AVG), Goldschmidt (.713), and Rosario (.694) can punish pitches that miss up and stay in the air. McGreevy's 49.2% ground-ball rate is his primary weapon — but left-handed hitters with elevated LD tendencies represent real danger when he misses his spot.

2N: PITCHER K%/BB% PROFILE

McGreevy (14.5% K%) is well below the 22.2% league average — his pitching model is contact management, not strikeouts. He must generate grounders and weak contact to succeed; he cannot bail himself out with punchouts when left-handed hitters get good pitches to hit. Schlittler (27.6% K%) strikes out hitters at an above-average rate, adding a strikeout weapon alongside his 38.1% ground-ball rate.

Both pitchers maintain solid walk control relative to their profiles. McGreevy's 5.0% BB% keeps him off the bases; Schlittler's 10.2% BB% is above the 8.9% league average but not alarmingly so. Their K/BB ratios (McGreevy 2.90, Schlittler 2.71) are similar despite dramatically different strikeout profiles.

KEY MATCHUPS & WATCHLIST

McGreevy vs Yankees Left-Handed Lineup

The defining variable tonight is McGreevy's platoon exposure. His 2025 OPS against left-handed batters was .911 — and the Yankees can field six left-handed batters (Wells, Rice, Chisholm, McMahon, Grisham, Jones) plus the switch-hitting Domínguez. McGreevy's 2026 numbers show genuine improvement (.721 OPS vs LHB) but the gap persists. Every left-handed at-bat in this lineup tests a known vulnerability, beginning in the first inning when McGreevy is at his least effective (TTO1: .792 OPS allowed in 2025).

Schlittler vs Cardinals Lineup (Both Sides)

The Cardinals hoped their six-LHB lineup would create a favorable platoon matchup against the right-handed Schlittler. It does not. Schlittler shows minimal platoon differential: .623 OPS vs LHB in 2025 (.570 in 2026). Add his 3.83 home ERA in 2026 and St. Louis faces an uphill path. Burleson (.296/.353/.478 vs RHP in 2025) is the lineup's best realistic threat; the bottom third — Church (.114/.216/.182 vs RHP), Crooks (.108/.132/.162), and Walker (.200/.263/.291) — carries a combined below-average profile against right-handed pitching.

Crooks Behind the Plate for McGreevy

Jimmy Crooks starts tonight, giving McGreevy a battery partner with thin shared history: 2 starts, 8.2 innings, 9.35 ERA together. The sample is too small to draw conclusions, but the contrast with McGreevy's primary pairing — Pagés across 14 starts and 80.2 innings at 4.24 ERA — is notable. With an active Yankees running game (Caballero 49 SB, Chisholm 31 SB, Domínguez 23 SB), Crooks' ability to manage both the pitching and the baserunners is a secondary factor worth watching.

QUICK REFERENCE -- IN-GAME QUERIES

Q: Has any Cardinal faced Schlittler before?
No. Zero career plate appearances for Cardinals batters against Schlittler in the historical record.

Q: What is McGreevy's career mark against left-handed hitters?
.318/.368/.543 (.911 OPS) in 2025 across 190 plate appearances. His 2026 improvement: .254 AVG, .721 OPS (294 BF).

Q: Who is McGreevy's catcher tonight?
Jimmy Crooks. The McGreevy–Crooks pairing spans 2 starts and 8.2 innings with a 9.35 ERA. His usual pairing with Pagés (14 G, 4.24 ERA) is the more established combination.

Q: Is Bellinger in the Yankees' lineup tonight?
No. Bellinger was placed on the injured list July 26 with a left hamstring strain.

Q: What is Schlittler's home ERA in 2026?
3.83 ERA (47.0 IP at home) versus 1.10 ERA on the road (89.2 IP). Tonight he pitches at Yankee Stadium.

Q: How does McGreevy perform the first time through the order?
.792 OPS allowed in TTO1 (2025) — his highest of the three turns. He improves to .715 in TTO2 and .677 in TTO3.

Q: How many stolen base threats does the Yankees lineup have?
Caballero (49 SB, 81.7%), Chisholm (31 SB, 79.5%), Domínguez (23 SB, 82.1%), Volpe (18 SB, 69.2%).