Luken

Baker

Baker was away from the team for three days. No word yet whether he’s in tonight’s lineup, but since the Dodgers are starting off with a righty in their bullpen game tonight, he probably won’t be.

The Cardinals just keep on winning extra-inning games. They’ve won in extras on back-to-back nights and three times in their last three tries. Coincidentally, all three have come against the Brewers. Baker played the hero in this one with his 10th inning single off Hoby Milner to set up the victory. Baker has shown impressive power with two homers, a double, and nine RBI in just 19 at-bats since being called up, but isn’t much more than a short-side platoon partner with Alec Burleson at DH right now.

Baker figured to play mostly against lefties, but the Cardinals haven’t faced any since he was recalled Aug. 20. As a result, he didn’t start any of his first seven games on the roster. Now, though, he seems to have overtaken Matt Carpenter, who had started five out of six games before sitting the last three days. There’s no reason to pick up Baker at the moment, but there’s the chance he’ll get hot and hit several homers down the stretch.

Baker will make his season debut after hitting .231/.345/.535 with 32 homers in 108 games for Memphis. That’s pretty good, but it pales in comparison to the .334/.440/.720 line he put up at the same level last year. We assume he’ll mostly be used as a DH against lefties, though that’s typically been Willson Contreras’s role of late. Contreras might be asked to do more catching now, reducing the role of Pedro Pagés.

No real surprises here as there’s simply no room for Baker, Rivas or Young at the highest level at the moment in St. Louis. The trio will head to Triple-A Memphis to continue serving as extra organizational depth. The latest batch of cuts pretty much ensures that reliever Andre Pallante and reserve outfielder Michael Siani will make the Opening Day roster.

Goldschmidt was out of the lineup on Wednesday for the first time since September 10th and it appears to not be just a one day absence. With the Cardinals eliminated and Nolan Arenado already shut down, it wouldn’t be a shock for St. Louis to also cut back on Goldschmidt’s playing time. With Goldschmidt on the bench, Luken Baker has shifted to first base and Juan Yepez has been starting as the designated hitter.

Goldschmidt takes a seat on Wednesday night for the first time since September 10 with rookie Luken Baker getting the nod at the cold corner. The 36-year-old veteran first baseman has posted an .806 OPS with 87 runs scored, 25 homers, 79 REBI and 11 stolen bases across 681 plate appearances in 152 games. He has one year left under contract with the Cardinals before reaching free agency.

The 26-year-old finally got the Cardinals on the board with a two-run blast off of Michael Wacha in the seventh inning — pulling the Cardinals to within 10 runs at 12-2. That would be Baker’s lone hit in three at-bats on the afternoon, though he also drew a walk. For the season, he’s hitting .217/.289/.319 with a pair of long balls and seven RBI in his first 75 plate appearances.

Yepez was promoted last Sunday after hitting .319/.349/.504 over his last 27 games at Triple-A. This is his first start since his promotion. With Yepez starting, Richie Palacios will head to the bench, as will Luken Baker. Jose Fermin will play third and Nolan Arenado is acting as the designated hitter.

Nootbaar got a breather against Braves lefty Max Fried on Thursday, but he’s in the lineup against Reds southpaw Andrew Abbott in this one. He’ll hit ninth while Tommy Edman will remain in the leadoff spot. Luken Baker will serve as the designated hitter.