Frogs in the MLB: Arrieta, Cashner, and Holaday take the mound while Carpenter gets a walk-off win

Jake Arrieta (P/Philadelphia Phillies) - On April 8, Arrieta shook off the dust bunnies and made his Phillies debut at home against the Marlins. It wasn’t great, but considering Arrieta missed 90% of spring training while he was looking for a new team, it’s a start. He pitched 4 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits, including a home run by Miguel Rojas in the top of the 1st. He walked 2 and struck out 5. Overall, his pitching steadily improved throughout those 4 innings. The Phillies lost 6-3. Arrieta will make his next start against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, April 14.

Arrieta currently has an ERA of 4.50 with a WHIP of 1.25. You can see his full stats here.

Matt Carpenter (1B/St. Louis Cardinals) - As usual, there are those who love Carpenter and those who don’t. He’s a power hitter, and that means he swings for the fences every chance he gets....and the ball doesn’t always get there. Cardinals fans always have opinion about where Carpenter should be in the lineup, and this year is no different. Should he lead? Clean-up? Hang out in the #3 spot? But Carpenter’s stats are unique in that he’s walked 11 times in 40 at-bats, far more than any other player on the Cardinals’ roster. He’s on par with the rest of the starts in RBIs and home runs, as well.

Also this is a great read for defending Carpenter. So all the nay-sayers can go shove it.

This week, Carpenter had two home series. The first was against the Diamondbacks. On April 5, Carpenter walked to get on base in the bottom of the 4th, with the Diamondbacks leading 3-0. He was batted in on a double by Yadier Molina to make it 3-1. That ended up being the only run for the Cardinals, who lost 3-1.

The Cardinals continued the series on April 7. Carpenter struck out twice, but he hit a sac fly in the bottom of the 3rd to bring in Dexter Fowler and tie the game at 2-2. The Cardinals pulled off a 5-3 win after Jose Martinez hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 3rd and the Diamondbacks couldn’t catch up.

On April 8, the two teams met for the final game of the series. Carpenter didn’t have much luck with a walk and two strikeouts, but the rest of the team was the same. The Diamondbacks held the Cardinals to a single run, taking the series and handing them a 4-1 loss for the night.

April 9 brought a series against the Brewers, and Carpenter continued to struggle at the plate. He walked in the bottom of the 3rd and got to third base before the inning ended. The Cards played him at first and third base while they played with the lineup a bit. St. Louis lost 5-4.

Game 2 came on April 10, with Carpenter having a much better day. He reached on an infield single to third to lead off the inning. With Carpenter at third and the bases loaded, Munoz walked, bringing Carpenter home and tying the game 1-1. The Cardinals tied the game in the bottom of the 9th, 2-2. The Brewers intentionally walked Carpenter to take the game into extra innings. After 10, the teams were tied 3-3. In the bottom of the 11th, Carpenter hit a walk-off home run to right field, bringing in Paul DeJong and ending the game with the 5-3 victory on a chilly St. Louis evening.

On April 11, the teams rounded out the series with game 3. Carpenter ground out to first in the bottom of the 6th to bring in Greg Garcia for the Cardinals’ first run of the night. Unfortunately, the Cardinals couldn’t keep up with Milwaukee and lost the game 3-2 to end the series.

Carpenter currently has 7 runs and 7 hits, with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs on the season. He has an average of .175. You can see his full stats here. He’ll face Cincinnati tonight on the road.

Andrew Cashner (P/Baltimore Orioles) - Cashner had a better outing on April 5 at the Yankees, where he pitched 6 innings. He allowed 1 run on 6 its, while walking 6 and striking out 11 like the Cashner we saw in Texas last year. The Orioles won 5-2.

On April 10, Cashner went 7 innings against the Blue Jays, keeping Toronto scoreless while allowing 4 hits. He walked 3 and struck out 6 in a close game that ended in an Orioles’ loss 2-1. Cashner is scheduled to pitch on Monday, April 16 at the Red Sox.

Cashner currently has a 2.50 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. You can see his full stats here.

Brandon Finnegan (P/Cincinnati Reds) - Finnegan made a rehab start yesterday for Louisville. He pitched 4 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits, with 1 home run. The Louisville Bats lost 7-1 to the Columbus Clippers. While the stats weren’t pretty, we’re hoping this is one step closer to Finnegan returning to Cincinnati and getting back into the rotation.

Bryan Holaday (C/Miami Marlins) - Holaday saw more action with the Marlins this week, as he stayed with them on the road to Philadelphia. On April 5, the Marlins utilized him as a catcher. He didn’t have much luck at the plate, but he was in the starting lineup, which was nice to see, since he was mostly a pinch hitter last year.

On April 7, the Marlins used his unicorn pitching skills and brought him in for the bottom of the 8th, with the Marlins down 20-1. Yes, I said 20-1. I’m pretty sure they would’ve let me pitch at that point. So anyway, they brought in Holaday and he didn’t allow a hit or a run, and he even managed to strike out Rhys Hoskins, so I’m calling that a success! But the damage was already done and the Marlins lost 20-1.

On April 8, the Marlins continued their series against Philly with Holaday facing Arrieta. Holaday didn’t manage to hit much off of Arrieta, but in the top of the 8th he hit a single to center, bringing in Brian Anderson to make it 6-3. That was the final score of the game and the Marlins grabbed the W to end the series.

On April 9, the Marlins were back home to face the Mets. Holaday hit a single with the Marlins trailing in the bottom of the 9th. He managed to get to third before the game ended with a Marlins loss 4-2.

On April 10, Holaday faced the Mets again and hit a nice double to deep left field in the bottom of the 8th, but the Marlins couldn’t do anything with it. They lost 8-6.

On April 11, the Marlins faced the Mets once again, but Holaday was not in the lineup this time. We’re hoping he gets more time beind the plate, on the mound, or wherever he decides to show off his talent in the coming week. As long as he’s in a Marlins uniform, we’ll take it!

Holaday currently has 1 run and 4 hits, with 2 RBIs. His AVG is .190. (He also has an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of 0.00, in case you were wondering.) You can see his full stats here.