After scoring the winning run on Saturday night, outfielder Victor Scott II recorded his first Major League hit on Sunday night. Where the Cardinals were planning on starting Dylan Carlson in center field until Tommy Edman’s return, they now have another problem on their ends. What will they do with Victor Scott II when both Carlson and Edman return from injuries?
On the one hand, they could keep him at the big league level where he would probably be platooning with other outfielders. But on the other hand, the Cardinals could send him back to the minors for not just more seasoning but regular playing time. This is what will probably happen but for now, Cardinals fans, Scott II, and Scott II’s family are just enjoying the ride.
His type of playing style is one that will remind fans of what Vince Coleman brought to the game. It’s exciting to watch but what’s surprising is that he never played above the AA level until getting the Opening Day start. Even though his first MLB hit did not come until Sunday night’s game, he was already doing some damage on the base path as the season started. When Scott II stole a base on Opening Day, he became the only Cardinals player since 1900 to steal a base in his MLB debut on Opening Day. Similarly, he became the 18th player age 23-045 or younger to steal a base in his MLB debut on Opening Day and the first to do so since Anthony Volpe did the same for the New York Yankees in 2023.
While Victor Scott II has been fun to watch, the St. Louis Cardinals got everything they could get from starting pitcher Steven Matz. Matz had pitched with success in four earlier starts against the Dodgers, going 3-0 in those outings. Matz—pitching against the Dodgers for only the second time as a Cardinals starter—got out of a few jams while facing a lineup featuring multiple MVPs. He pitched into the sixth inning on a day after the Cardinals used up a bulk of their bullpen in a Saturday night game impacted by both rain and extra innings. Matz’s performance, combined with the Cardinals offense and catcher’s interference by the Dodgers, was looking like it was enough to limit the damage as the Cardinals head down the Southern California coast to take on the San Diego Padres.
That the Cardinals bullpen allowed the Dodgers to creep back into the game and blow the lead is going to pose a problem for the season if they keep this up. For the Cardinals to make a deep run in the postseason, the bullpen is going to need to limit the blown save opportunities. It looked as if the offense provided enough run support but at the end of the day, four runs is not going to provide enough safety when facing the Dodgers. Not against a dangerous Dodgers lineup that features Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani.
If not for blowing the opportunity late in the game, the Cardinals would have been sitting pretty going into San Diego with a series split. Leaving Los Angeles with a 3-1 record is a win in its own right—this is a dangerous Dodgers team that could very well win the World Series this season. There is still plenty of season left to play and luckily, the Cardinals only have to face the Dodgers three more times but it won’t be until hosting then at Busch Stadium in mid-August.
