Willson Contreras

Contreras caught both games of the doubleheader Saturday so it's no surprise to see that he gets a day off for the finale against his former team. Pedro Pages is the starting catcher with Nolan Arenado the designated hitter and Brandon Crawford manning the hot corner.

Contreras victimized his former team in the opening inning with a 364-foot (103.9 mph EV) solo shot off of Javier Assad. He then started the Cardinals' go-ahead rally in the eighth inning with a leadoff walk and then raced home on Nolan Arenado's go-ahead two-run single. He's having an impressive season at the dish, slashing .273/.405/.517 with 10 homers, 24 RBI and three stolen bases in only 50 games.

Assad also issued a pair of walks on the night and didn't record a strikeout. Things got bad for Assad right out of the gate as Masyn Winn slugged a leadoff homer and later in the first inning Willson Contreras added a solo shot of his own. The Cardinals added on in the second on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Alec Burleson. Assad got just two whiffs on 44 pitches in the game, posting a CSW of 27 percent. He now holds a 3.27 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a 79/35 K/BB ratio over 85 1/3 innings in 17 starts on the season.

Winn led off the first inning for St. Louis with a base hit and scored on a single by Willson Contreras. He then drove in two runs with a single in the same inning as the Cardinals brought nine runs in to score in the opening frame. The 22-year-old shortstop is having an excellent first full season in the majors, slashing .285/.334/.401 with four homers, 41 runs scored, 32 RBI, and nine steals across 343 plate appearances.

The hard-hitting 24-year-old backstop had been shelved since June 19 due to tightness in his back. He'll continue to play in an everyday role at Triple-A for the time being with Pedro Pages continuing to serve as the primary backup behind Willson Contreras at the big-league level.