Masyn Winn’s hit streak halts with strategic decision Cardinals manager ‘didn’t want to make’ (2024)

PHILADELPHIA— Before the Cardinals revved up their batting practice Friday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, manager Oliver Marmol approached rookie shortstop Masyn Winn on the field with the question he had spent most of the day mulling.

He wanted the young infielder’s view on a choice he hoped to avoid.

Winn carried an 18-game hitting streak into the weekend that was the longest active streak in the majors and the second-longest ever by a Cardinals rookie. The manager wanted to give him a day off, a proactive break to benefit Winn’s sometimes sore back and also his long-range stamina. But looming in the Philadelphia Phillies’ bullpen were a handful of lefties, each of whom offered a strategic matchup for Winn in the late innings of a close game.

It could be the Cardinals’ best single shot with a tight score. It would leave Winn only that one, single shot to extend his hitting streak.

Marmol asked Winn how he felt about that possibility.

“Put me in there,” they both said he answered.

“It was the one decision,” Marmol said late Friday, “I didn’t want to make all day.”

After the game, with two reporters remaining in the manager’s office, the Post-Dispatch asked Marmol if the streak was a factor at all in his choice to use Winn.

“A ton,” Marmol said. “It’s the only thing I thought of all morning.”

There was a pause as the reporters measured which direction Marmol’s answer would go.

It dove into sincerity.

“First thing I thought of when I woke up – because I care about it, I really do,” Marmol said. “For Masyn and the job he’s been doing. I knew with the amount of lefties they had they were going to insert them at some point. My hope was it wouldn’t line up. Yeah, it’s the one thing I thought of all day.”

Marmol and the Cardinals prefer to script out days off for everyday players and do their best to adhere to that schedule. It’s why the day after Arenado thunderously broke a skid with a pull-side homer in Cincinnati, he was out of the lineup. Marmol explained that for Arenado and Winn the Cardinals wanted to use the schedule to get them more than 48 hours of a break. The day game Wednesday in Cincinnati, an off day Thursday, and the night game Friday made that possible. Arenado had the front end. Winn got the back end.

That also cleared playing time for Crawford, the former All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner who has made two starts in the past 24 days and five appearances total in May.

The streak an outward sign of why.

“Hard to squeeze in the lineup when the other shortstop is getting a couple of hits every night,” said starter Mikolas.

The unsteady swing caused by an abbreviated spring training and complicated by limited playing time started to clear recently for Crawford. He felt, even in batting practice, better in synch and ready to translate that into games. Eventually. In his first at-bat Friday, he tagged a pitch from Aaron Nola for a solo homer that trimmed the Phillies’ lead down to 3-1. Two innings later, Crawford laced a single. Through six innings, Nola allowed two hits and Crawford had both of them. The Phillies weren’t going to allow Crawford a third at-bat against Nola and lifted their right-hander immediately before Crawford’s seventh-inning at-bat.

In came left Matt Strahm.

Up came Winn and his .803 OPS vs. lefties for Crawford.

“As good as I feel about how I felt tonight, I feel terrible for him,” Crawford said in the Cardinals’ clubhouse late Friday. “Kind of got put into that spot where he only has one at-bat to continue his hit streak. That was the last thing I wanted. I was rooting as hard as anybody in the dugout for him during that at-bat.”

As Crawford passed Winn in the on-deck circle, the veteran offered some insight on Strahm’s fastball and “how it plays.”

Three of the first four pitches Winn saw were fastballs.

He fouled off one with two strikes.

He tagged a slider for the flyout.

“It’s a one-run ballgame,” Marmol said, “and if you asked if he wanted to extend (the streak) it one more day or win the division, I’m pretty sure he’ll be very clear on which one he would prefer.”

He was asked.

“We’ve got to win every day,” Winn said. “That definitely (stinks) getting one AB. I just have got to get the job done there and get on base.”

Through his 18-game hitting streak, Winn hit .368 with a .389 on-base percentage and a .559 slugging percentage for a .948 OPS. During the stretch, Winn took over the lead in line drive rate, edging Dodgers’ perennial MVP candidate Mookie Betts, at least for now. Winn also continued to play strong defense that has him among the leaders at shortstop for Defensive Runs Saved and a percolating candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year award.

The streak wasn’t long enough to garner much attention beyond what it meant for the Cardinals. It wasn’t like he was chasing Joltin’ Joe ... just Super Joe.

With at least one hit in 18 consecutive games, Winn surpassed friend and teammate Jordan Walker’s streak from a year ago and moved within a week of Joe McEwing’s club record. As a rookie in 1999, McEwing had a 25-game hitting streak.

“Hopefully we can get another one going,” Winn said.

Winn will return to the lineup Saturday.

He already articulated his bottom-line view of getting one chance in the late innings to extend his hitting streak. In summary: No one asks about the streak if he gets a hit there. So he’s back in the lineup and back at zero for consecutive games with at least one hit. There is still time remaining in the schedule “to break Joe McEwing’s record,” as he said. Enough still to author four different record hitting streaks, rest schedule permitting.

“I’d be surprised if an 18-game hit streak is his career high,” Crawford said.