As the Chicago White Sox praise the prowess of a budding duo of rookie catchers, the St. Louis Cardinals are especially keen on the recent efforts of their one-time backstop.
A rainout of the scheduled Wednesday game between the Cardinals and host White Sox offered the opportunity for players to rest ahead of a straight doubleheader on Thursday.
St. Louis first baseman Willson Contreras, a former All-Star catcher, may have embraced the breather more than most.
“I love the way he plays,” Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore said. “He plays like his hair is on fire, and it’s infectious.”
While leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan (four hits) and Ivan Herrera (four RBIs) sparked the St. Louis attack to a 12-2 rout of Chicago in the series opener on Tuesday, Contreras wasn’t stagnant. He walked twice and scored a run in the fifth on his first career steal of home.
Contreras slid in ahead of a tag from Chicago rookie catcher Edgar Quero, and the play was upheld on replay review.
Quero contributed two of his team’s six hits and drove in one of the White Sox’s runs. While Quero was not in the Wednesday lineup before the game was called due to inclement weather, he figures to be a factor behind the plate Thursday and going forward.
Chicago also is taking a good look at rookie catcher Kyle Teel. Both Quero and Teel were acquired in trades over the past two seasons and are expected to develop on the job.
“I think it’s really a group effort here, where these catchers are very capable guys that are bright guys that work extremely hard,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “They put in the work with the coaches. They put in the work studying the video and reports and talking to pitchers and game-planning and doing everything they need to do to be prepared for a game.
“So it’s gonna be part of them being here and playing every day. They’re learning as much as they can, and every experience they get (makes them) a little bit better.”
The pitching matchup for Game 1 of the doubleheader features a pair of right-handers: White Sox rookie Sean Burke (3-7, 4.71 ERA) and. Louis veteran Erick Fedde (3-6, 3.65).
Burke is coming off a loss on June 11 in Houston, where he surrendered seven runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. He will be opposing the Cardinals for the first time.
Fedde has posted a 3.34 ERA over his past six starts, but he has an 0-3 record in that span. He lost at Milwaukee on Friday after yielding three runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Fedde went 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts for the White Sox last season before being traded to the Cardinals. He has never pitched against the White Sox.
The nightcap will pit Chicago’s Mike Vasil (3-2, 1.99 ERA) against St. Louis’ Michael McGreevy (1-1, 3.09) in a meeting of rookie right-handers.
Vasil delivered a season-high four innings in a no-decision at Texas on Saturday. He scattered two hits and didn’t allow a run despite issuing four walks and hitting a batter. Vasil has yet to oppose the Cardinals.
McGreevy will be recalled from the minors for the start. He fired six shutout innings for Triple-A Memphis on Saturday. In his most recent major league appearance, he pitched six innings of four-run ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 8.
He will be squaring off with the White Sox for the first time in his two-year major league career.
–Field Level Media