The St. Louis Cardinals, who will shoot for a three-game sweep of the host Miami Marlins on Wednesday, are giving Nathan Church a shot in center field.
The 25-year-old rookie is getting his opportunity in part due to the left ankle sprain that landed regular center fielder Victor Scott II on the injured list on Sunday.
“He’s a good defender,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Church. “He has no fear.”
Church gets extremely high marks (70 on 20-80 scouting scale) for his speed. He also gets strong numbers for his arm and fielding ability (60 for both).
A left-handed hitter, Church made it through three levels of the minors this year, including Triple-A, hitting a combined .329 with 19 doubles, five triples, 13 homers, 50 RBIs, 16 steals, 67 runs and a .911 OPS in 86 games.
Church has started 0-for-10 in the majors, but he earned his first RBI on a sacrifice bunt as St. Louis posted a 7-4 win over Miami on Tuesday.
“He understands the game, and he has put together some pretty good numbers in Triple-A,” Marmol said. “I like his at-bats and overall approach. I have a high level of interest in seeing him up here.”
Scott, who has a .623 OPS and 31 steals on 33 attempts, is expected to return late this month.
The same is true for teammate Brendan Donovan (strained left groin). The second baseman, who went on the injured list on Monday, retroactive to Friday, ranks third on the team in doubles (25) and is fourth in OPS (.750).
Thomas Saggese moved from third base to second base when Donovan got hurt, went 2-for-16 in his first four games after the shift before breaking out Tuesday night. He went 3-for-4 with two runs, an RBI and a stolen base.
The Wednesday pitching matchup is set to feature a pair of right-handers: St. Louis’ Andre Pallante (6-10, 5.04 ERA) and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (6-11, 6.31).
Pallante — like Church — is from UC Irvine. Church was an 11th-round pick in 2022. Pallante was a fourth-round selection in 2019.
In six career appearances against Miami, including two starts, Pallante is 1-1 with a 1.40 ERA. He fired seven shutout innings while beating the Marlins 7-1 on July 28. Pallante yielded just one hit and one walk while striking out four.
Alcantara is 2-4 with a stellar 1.71 ERA in seven career starts against the Cardinals — his first organization. The Dominican Republic native signed with the Cardinals in July 2013 as a 17-year-old.
Four years later, Alcantara was traded to Miami along with Zac Gallen and two other players in a deal that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis.
The rest of the story is well known. Alcantara won the National League Cy Young Award in 2022, had Tommy John surgery in October 2023, missed all of last year and has had trouble finding his old form this year.
If Alcantara is able to hand off a lead to the bullpen on Wednesday, the Marlins won’t be able to call on right-hander Anthony Bender. The setup reliever was placed on the injured list on Tuesday due to a stress reaction in his right leg. He will miss the rest of the year.
In 51 games this year, Bender posted a career-best 2.16 ERA with four saves.
“We’re going to miss Anthony,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “He put together a fantastic season.”
–Field Level Media
