Frogs in the MLB: Arrieta and Carpenter give fans a May to remember

Jake Arrieta (P/Philadelphia Phillies) -

Arrieta finished out the month of May with another win, this time against the Dodgers in L.A. He held the Dodgers to 0 runs on 6 hits over 7 innings. He struck out 5 and walked 2. The Phillies won 6-1 and are 1 game behind 1st place in the NL East.

Jake’s wife Brittany celebrated the West Coast win on Twitter.

Arrieta has an ERA of 2.16 with a WHIP of 1.15. You can see Arrieta’s full stats here. He’ll pitch Sunday in San Francisco.

Matt Carpenter (1B/St. Louis Cardinals) -

He’s baaaaaaaaack!!!!!! Carpenter had himself a week! After a slow start and an 8-1 loss to the Pirates in Pittsburgh on May 25, the Cardinals fought back on May 26. Carpenter was at the top of the lineup and started the game with a leadoff home run—his 5th home run of the season. The Cardinals went on to win 4-1.

On May 27, Carpenter added 2 more hits and a run to his stats, in a 6-4 win to take the series.

May 28 began a series in Milwaukee for the Cardinals. And while the ultimately lost 8-3, Carpenter helped keep it close with a solo home run in the top of the 5th—number 6 for the season.

May 29 brought game 2, with Carpenter walking in a run in the top of the 2nd, making it 2-0 Cards. Then in the top of the 4th, Carpenter hit another home run. Keeping track? That’s #3 for the week, and #7 this season. The Cardinals went on to win 6-1.

May 30 was the final game in Milwaukee, and Carp didn’t have much luck at the plate. The Cardinals lost 3-2 before returning home to St. Louis.

On May 31, the Cardinals were home against the Brewers. Carpenter singled in the bottom of the 1st to get on base and was knocked in by Dexter Fowler later in the inning. It was 5-4 St. Louis in the top of the 7th with bases loaded, when Carpenter was part of a fantastic double-play.

That kept the Cardinals in the game until the Brewers’ bats got hot in the top of the 8th and they went ahead 8-5. The Cardinals went in order in the bottom of the 8th, but Mayers pitched a 3-up-3-down top of the 9th to put it all on the line in the bottom of the 9th. The Cardinals came back and scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th (including a walk-off 3-run homer) to take the game 10-8.

Carpenter currently has 22 runs and 40 hits, with 7 home runs and 21 RBIs on the season. He has an average went from .199 to .229 this past week. The Cardinals will play at home against the Pirates again tonight. You can see his full stats here.

Andrew Cashner (P/Baltimore Orioles) -

Cashner had a rough night against the Rays on May 26. In just 5 innings, he allowed 5 runs on 11 hits, while striking out 4 and walking 4. The Orioles lost 5-1.

Cashner currently has a 5.07 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. You can see his full stats here. Cashner will pitch at home tonight against the Yankees.

Brandon Finnegan (P/Cincinnati Reds) -

Finnegan is still with Triple-A Louisville. Hopefully the Reds can bring him back to the rotation soon.

Finnegan currently has a 7.40 ERA. You can see his full stats here.

Bryan Holaday (C/Miami Marlins) -

Holaday was back in the Marlins’ lineup on May 28. He had a quiet day at the plate, hitting a single in the 7th but getting thrown out on a subsequent double play at second. The Marlins still managed to win the game 7-2.

Holaday currently has 4 runs and 8 hits, with 4 RBIs and 1 home run. His AVG is .160. You can see his full stats here. The Marlins will be in Arizona tonight.