First pitch is 6:45 PM CT at Busch Stadium for Monday's series opener, and neither side has announced a probable yet — Arizona's rotation is still a Corbin Burnes-sized hole (teres major, shut down from throwing), and St. Louis is reshuffling after Matthew Liberatore got blasted in Kansas City.
The Diamondbacks come in 38-36 and feeling decent about it. They've won 3 of their last 5, the offense punched out an 8-1 win over the Angels on June 17, and Carroll dropped his 5th career grand slam in that one — his 13th homer of the year. Ketel Marte, Gabriel Moreno and the kids (Jordan Lawlar, Tommy Troy) all had multi-hit nights. The noise about Marte taking a day off during the Dodgers series got swatted down by Carroll, and the lineup hasn't missed a beat.
The Cardinals (40-33) are the better team on paper but they're walking in wounded. They split with San Diego, then went to Kauffman and got run out of the building 14-6 on Thursday. That's the kind of loss that lingers — the rotation has questions behind McGreevy and Pallante, and Liberatore's been wobbly enough that there's already chatter about a rotation shuffle. Ramon Urias is still on the 60-day with an elbow issue and Ryan Fernandez is rehabbing the back, so the bullpen depth isn't where they'd like it either.
- Day-To-DayA.J. Vukovich CF — no
- Day-To-DayDerek Law RP — no
- Day-To-DayKyle Amendt RP — Amendt was invited to major-league spring training by the Diamondbacks, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 10-Day-ILJames McCann C — McCann (quadriceps) is expected to begin playing in complex league games next week, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
- developmental listJuan Centeno C — The Diamondbacks re-assigned Centeno to minor-league camp Friday.
- 60-Day-ILA.J. Puk RP — The Diamondbacks paused Puk's (elbow) rehab Friday due to left shoulder discomfort, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
- 60-Day-ILCarlos Santana 1B — Santana (thigh) began a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League on Friday, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 60-Day-ILCorbin Burnes SP — Manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday that Burnes (elbow) has been shut down from throwing after suffering a teres major strain, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
- Day-To-DaySem Robberse SP — Robberse (elbow) has been sent to the Cardinals' Florida Complex League affiliate to begin a rehab assignment.
- Day-To-DayPacky Naughton RP — Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DayVictor Santos RP — The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayIxan Henderson SP — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson RP — The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.
- 15-Day-ILRyan Fernandez RP — Fernandez (back) is on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
- 60-Day-ILRamon Urias 3B — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Stylistically this is a fun one. Arizona's an athletic, line-to-line offense that doesn't strike out a ton and runs the bases hard — exactly the kind of group that can make a shaky middle-relief night uncomfortable. St. Louis's edge is at home, where they took 2 of 3 from the Padres and where the Carroll-led lefty bats have to deal with a park that doesn't reward fly balls the way Chase Field does.
Stakes are real for both. The Cardinals are clinging to NL Central relevance behind Milwaukee, and the Diamondbacks are trying to claw back to .500-and-then-some in the NL West without their ace. Monday isn't a marquee night nationally, but it's the kind of June game that quietly decides which of these teams is buying or selling in five weeks.