Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Sitting out against left-hander
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Burleson is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Mets.
With lefty David Peterson on the bump for the Mets, Burleson will yield to Luken Baker in the designated hitter slot. Burleson has been absent from the lineup all six times the Cardinals have faced a southpaw this season.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Idle against lefty
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
The Astros are sending southpaw Framber Valdez to the mound in the series opener, so the lefty-hitting Burleson will unsurprisingly head to the bench. Platoon mate Luken Baker will draw the start at designated hitter and will bat second for St. Louis.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Not starting against lefty
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Burleson isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Phillies, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Burleson is currently enjoying a five-game hitting streak, but the Cardinals will move him to the bench in preparation for a matchup against left-hander Cristopher Sanchez. Luken Baker steps in as St. Louis' designated hitter, batting second.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Idle against lefty
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.
Through the first six games of the season, the Cardinals have faced left-handed starting pitchers two times, and the lefty-hitting Burleson has checked out of the lineup on both occasions. The right-handed-hitting Luken Baker will replace Burleson as the Cardinals' designated hitter Wednesday while southpaw Yusei Kikuchi takes the hill for the Angels.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Exiting lineup Monday
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Burleson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Angels.
The Cardinals are facing a left-handed starting pitcher (Tyler Anderson) for the first time this season, so the lefty-hitting Burleson will retreat to the bench after going 2-for-11 with a double, a walk, two runs and two RBI during the team's recent three-game series versus the Twins. Luken Baker will enter the St. Louis lineup Monday as the club's designated hitter.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: In line to DH Opening Day
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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that he plans to start Burleson at designated hitter and bat him fifth Opening Day against Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
It's the spot Burleson is in for Monday's exhibition game versus Triple-A Memphis in what Marmol indicated is a preview of his Opening Day lineup. While Burleson is slated to serve as the primary DH against right-handed pitching, he will likely have to yield the spot to Nolan Gorman on occasion.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Will split reps at first base/DH
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Burleson is in line to split playing time at first base and designated hitter with Willson Contreras, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The downstream effect of Victor Scott winning the center field job will create a playing time crunch for Nolan Gorman, but it appears Burleson's at-bats, at least against right-handed pitching, are secure. Burleson slashed .292/.341/.464 versus right-handed pitching last season.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Cranks third spring training homer
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Burleson popped a solo home run -- his third of the spring -- in Wednesday's Grapefruit League tilt versus the Nationals.
Drawing the start at first base, Burleson led off the bottom of the third inning with a long ball off of Jake Irvin. Although he's batting only .209 this spring, Burleson's three home runs trail only Luken Baker's four for the team lead. Burleson's playing time might be impacted if the Cardinals elect to go with Victor Scott or Michael Siani as their primary center fielder, as it would likely mean Nolan Gorman being used more at designated hitter. The left-handed hitting Burleson slashed .292/.341/.464 versus right-handed pitching last season but batted only .242/.306/.320 in the second half.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Won't play outfield this spring
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Burleson is not expected to be used in the outfield this spring, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Even with outfielder Jordan Walker (knee) slated to miss the next week of action with a knee issue, Burleson will stick to the designated-hitter spot and first base. The overwhelming majority of Burleson's starts at the major-league level to this point have come in the outfield, but he's slated to be the club's primary DH versus righties this season while also seeing some action at first base on days Willson Contreras serves as the DH.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Getting rest against lefty
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Burleson isn't in the Cardinals' lineup for Saturday's game against the Guardians.
Burleson and his .509 OPS against left-handed pitchers will remain in the dugout to begin Saturday's contest while Cleveland sends Matthew Boyd to the hill. Luken Baker will serve as the Cards' designated hitter and bat second.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Sitting versus lefty
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Burleson is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Reds.
Southpaw Brandon Williamson is on the hill for the Reds, so the left-handed-hitting Burleson will begin the contest on the bench. Luken Baker will occupy the designated hitter slot for St. Louis.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Records ninth steal
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Burleson went 1-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Padres.
Burleson is up to nine steals on 12 attempts this season. The speed is a relatively newfound part of his game -- prior to this year, he never had more than five steals across all levels in a full season. He's gone 7-for-18 (.389) during a five-game hitting streak, though he's also gone 11 games without a home run. Burleson is slashing .279/.317/.456 with 21 homers, 72 RBI, 62 runs scored and 18 doubles over 125 games this year. He's mostly been a strong-side platoon player in August, but he could reclaim a full-time role if another team claims Tommy Pham off waivers.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Gets on base four times
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Burleson went 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Brewers.
Burleson has gone 14-for-46 (.304) over his last 12 contests, adding two home runs, two doubles, six RBI, one stolen base and seven runs scored in that span. He hasn't been known for patience at the plate lately -- he hadn't drawn a walk since Aug. 3 before getting two free passes Thursday. Despite a 4.6 percent walk rate this season, Burleson has been one of the Cardinals' top hitters with a .278/.313/.462 slash line, 21 home runs, 70 RBI, 59 runs scored and eight stolen bases over 461 plate appearances. That said, he's back to being a strong-side platoon player after earning an everyday role in mid-June. He has sat out against the last three southpaws the Cardinals have faced.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Out against left-hander
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Burleson is not in the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Dodgers, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
The Dodgers are sending lefty Justin Wrobleski to the hill, so the left-handed hitting Burleson will begin this one on the bench. Tommy Pham and Jordan Walker are in the corner outfield spots for the Cardinals and Willson Contreras will be the designated hitter.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Clubs 20th homer
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Burleson went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 8-5 win over the Royals.
Burleson reached the 20-homer mark for the first time in his career with his third-inning blast Friday. He's batting .242 with two homers, a double and four RBI over eight contests in August, though he remains in the No. 2 spot in the order. For the year, the slugger has a .278/.312/.466 slash line, 67 RBI, 54 runs scored, 15 doubles and seven stolen bases over 109 games.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Knocks homer in win
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Burleson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Cubs.
Burleson had gone 10 games without a homer, batting just .150 (6-for-40) in that span. He put the power drought to rest with his first-inning blast, giving him 19 long balls on the year. The slugger has added a .278/.314/.468 slash line with 64 RBI, 51 runs scored, seven stolen bases and 14 doubles over 103 contests.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Homers in Sunday's win
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Burleson went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Sunday's 6-2 win over Atlanta.
Burleson finished the three-game series in Atlanta having gone 6-for-14 (.429) with six RBI. He's posted four multi-hit efforts over his last six contests and has logged at least one RBI in each of those games. Overall, he's slashing .294/.324/.500 with 18 homers, 59 RBI, 43 runs scored and seven stolen bases through 353 plate appearances.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Four RBI in twin bill
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Burleson went 4-for-9 with four RBI and one run scored across both games of Saturday's doubleheader versus Atlanta.
Burleson did most of his damage in a 9-5 win for the Cardinals in the nightcap. He had a sacrifice fly to open the scoring in the first inning and added a pair of RBI singles. Burleson's breakout has reached another level in July -- he's hitting .355 with eight extra-base hits and 19 RBI over 15 games this month. Overall, he's at a .292/.323/.492 slash line with 17 homers, 57 RBI, 42 runs scored, seven stolen bases and 14 doubles across 91 games.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Goes deep again Sunday
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Burleson went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Sunday's 8-3 loss to the Cubs.
Burleson heads into the All-Star break on a tear with four homers and 11 RBI across his last seven games. The outfielder is up to a .288/.320/.494 slash line, 17 long balls, 53 RBI, 41 runs scored, 14 doubles and seven stolen bases across 89 contests. Burleson still doesn't have one set position, but he's able to maintain a near-everyday role between the corner outfield spots, first base and designated hitter.
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Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Homers in Game 1 win Saturday
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Burleson went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, a double and an additional run scored in an 11-3 win over the Cubs in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader.
Burleson also went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly in the nightcap. He's driven in 10 runs over his last six games, and he's batting .327 (16-for-49) over 12 contests in July. The 25-year-old is up to a .285/.318/.481 slash line with 16 homers, 52 RBI, 40 runs scored, seven stolen bases and 13 doubles over 88 games in his breakout year.
