(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
The St. Louis Cardinals have started the 2023 season off on the right foot.
After a tough loss on Opening Day, the team bounced back to win two straight and secure a series win against a powerful Toronto Blue Jays ballclub.
And as many have predicted, their offense has been at the center of it all, leading the way for the team and scoring 22 runs over the weekend.
Sunday brought some strong performances, such as Nolan Gorman‘s two-homer game.
In the tweet below are some important statistics which show where the Cardinals rank offensively after their opening series against the Blue Jays.
Here’s how the #STLCards‘ offensive numbers stack up to the MLB through three games:
AVG: 1st (.373)
OBP: T-1st (.426)
SLG: 2nd (.591)
OPS 2nd (1.017)
wRC+: 1st (202)
fWAR: 1st (1.9)
Soft-contact%: 29th (10.9%)
Strikeout%: 30th (15.6%)
— STL Sports Central (@stlsportscntrl) April 3, 2023
After losing Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, St. Louis was in need of another middle-of-the-order presence.
They signed Willson Contreras, who was injured on Opening Day but came back on Sunday and helped lead the team to another nine-run outburst.
But the emergence of stars such as Gorman, Jordan Walker, and Alec Burleson has paid dividends so far for St. Louis.
The Cardinals rank first in all of baseball in average, wRC+, and fWAR.
They rank second in slugging percentage and OPS.
The team is tied for first in on-base percentage and have the lowest strikeout percentage in all of baseball.
They also have the second-lowest soft contact percentage.
While it’s only a small sample size, it has to be encouraging for any Cardinals fan who was worried about the offense heading into the season.
And with former hitting coach Jeff Albert gone, the team is showing what their lineup is truly capable of.
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