How the St. Louis Cardinals took command of second NL Wild Card spot

Nolan Being Nolan

When the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Nolan Arenado in a trade with the Colorado Rockies in the offseason, there were plenty of questions about how Arenado’s numbers would fare away from the spacious outfield at Coors Field. While some metrics such as batting average may be down for Arenado compared to previous years (.293 during his eight seasons in Colorado versus .253 this season in St. Louis), there is no question Arenado is still producing at an All-Star level.

Nolan Arenado is raking for the St. Louis Cardinals

Arenado went 2-for-4 in Sunday’s win over San Diego, keeping him at 99 RBI for the season. That paces the Cardinals and puts him in reach of 100, which will give him six consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs and 100 or more RBI (excluding last year’s pandemic-shortened season). No other Major League player can boast those numbers (J.D. Martinez has four and four others have three).

That next RBI will also make Arenado the first Cardinal with 100 RBI since Matt Holliday (102 in 2012) and the first Cardinals third baseman since Scott Rolen (124 in 2004).

And, of course, Arenado is still making incredible plays in the field as well.

The most home runs that Arenado has hit in a month this season was seven back in May. He already has six in September, giving the Cardinals a power surge when they have needed it most.