When they face the Mets on Saturday, Cardinals batters will be forced to deal with one of baseball's rarest pitches.
Thankfully for the Redbirds, they're as well-equipped as anyone to confront that difficult challenge.
The two teams continue their series Saturday at 3:05 p.m. (ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ time) in the third of four in Queens. The game airs on KTVI (Channel 2) in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and on nationally.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ has lost the first two after Friday's walk-off Mets home run.
Mets right-hander Kodai Senga (2-1, 1.06) and his ghost fork will take center stage Saturday.
Baseball's rarest pitch, the forkball was thrown just 211 times last season, according to Baseball Savant, mainly because Senga was out most of last year with an injury.
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He alone threw it 664 times in 2023. Senga is the most advanced practitioner of the pitch. His even has .
Because of that rarity, few players have much of a history against the forkball, and even fewer have done well against it.
Thankfully for the Cardinals, two of the 19 players who performed better than average last season against the forkball are on their active roster.
Both Nolan Gorman (12th-best) and Brendan Donovan (16th-best) fared well against it last season. Catcher Ivan Herrera, still out with an injury, was third-best against it.
In 2023, the Cardinals scored four earned runs against Senga in what was one of his worst starts in a stellar rookie campaign, and Donovan drove in the Cardinals' first run that with a single against the forkball.
Even the best hitters, however, struggle against the pitch. This year, opponents are hitting .111 against Senga's forkball, which he throws about a quarter of the time.
The Cardinals will send out left-hander Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 3.93) and his elite walk rate.
The Cardinals are 9-11 overall and 1-7 on the road in one of their worst starts to their road season in recent history.
The Mets are 13-7 overall and 7-1 at home.
Lineups
CARDINALS
1. Lars Nootbaar, RF
2. Willson Contreras, 1B
3. Brendan Donovan, LF
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Alec Burleson, DH
6. Thomas Saggese, SS
7. Nolan Gorman, 2B
8. Yohel Pozo, C
9. Victor Scott II, CF
P: Matthew Liberatore, LHP
METS
1. Francisco Lindor, SS
2. Juan Soto, RF
3. Pete Alonso, 1B
4. Mark Vientos, 3B
5. Starling Marte, DH
6. Brandon Nimmo, LF
7. Luis Torrens, C
8. Luisangel Acuña, 2B
9. José Azocar, CF
P: Kodai Senga, RHP
Injury report
Masyn Winn, SS (back spasms):Â Headed to join Class AAA Memphis on Friday to begin a rehab assignment. He will miss the New York trip but could rejoin the team in Atlanta and be reactivated as soon as Tuesday. Updated April 17
Ivan Herrera, C (bone bruise):Â Cleared to begin full baseball activities this weekend and see how comfortable he is, and that will determine how quickly he advances. Updated April 17
Zack Thompson, LHP (lat strain): Remained in Jupiter, Florida, to begin a throwing program after a month of limited activity and no throwing. Thompson went through multiple checkups and scans to monitor the healing of a tear in his lat on the left side, and they did not show any setback to delayed Thompson's scheduled move to the injured list. On April 7, Thompson was transferred to the 60-day IL. Updated April 7
