Cardinals’ Alec Burleson Reveals Matt Carpenter’s 2-Word Direct Message That Saved Him

The St. Louis Cardinals surpassed the .500 mark with their 9-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. St. Louis had a respectable 11-game run to climb the NL Central. Additionally, Alec Burleson revealed the two-word message from Matt Carpenter that helped the right fielder improve his performance.

Alec Burleson went nearly nine months without hitting a home run before the Cardinals’ late April series against the New York Mets. However, he ended his streak with a home run on April 26, and he attributed his slam to direct guidance from Matt Carpenter.

“Do some damage,” Carpenter told Burleson before the Cardinals started the Mets series, according to John Denton of MLB.com.

But the story does not end there. Burleson homered twice in an MLB game for the first time and had a career-high five RBIs in the Cardinals’ win over the Giants on Saturday. The right fielder recalled Carpenter’s words when he gave reporters insight into what fueled his big day.

“Carp kind of said the same thing the organization and the coaching staff were saying: do damage,” Burleson said. “My two-strike batting skills are pretty good, but it was different hearing (hitting advice) from him. It was different to hear that from someone who plays this game and has been doing it for a long time. It wasn’t new, but it was different coming from a guy like that.

Matt Carpenter is in his 14th season in MLB, so the veteran slugger’s advice to Burleson meant a lot and it was effective. Burleson helped lead the Cardinals’ offensive attack, which also translated into a strong defensive stand against San Francisco.

Ex-St. Louis pitcher Jordan Hicks and Oliver Marmol provided additional insight into Saturday’s intense battle.

The Cardinals are in good spirits after their victory against the Giants

Jordan Hicks pitched four innings Saturday, but admitted he was out of gas due to the high temperatures.

“I would say my legs were pretty dead after the third one,” Hicks said. “I could always see it when I was with the Cardinals, that the other pitchers looked like they were pretty dead (from the heat). You have them throw up to 20-30 pitches in an inning, that’s when we usually did our damage when I was with the Cardinals.

“It made sense in that (fourth) inning. I had two outs, then (Dylan Carlson) comes down and gets a pitch, Masyn (Winn) puts a good swing on one then a solid pitch, but Burleson puts a good swing on a fastball…I got beat by the long ball today,” Hicks added.

Alec Burleson gave Hicks and the Giants a run for their money on Saturday. Oliver Marmol revealed that Burleson’s intense performances are coupled with what John Denton described as “an infectious energy”.

“Even in the clubhouse he’s a bit of an idiot in a good way,” Marmol joked. “It stays light and doesn’t take itself too seriously. And he plays that way. He will be frustrated from time to time but he plays the game with this enthusiasm. It rubs off on the other guys.

It will be interesting to see how Burleson, Matt Carpenter and the rest of the team continue to perform as they fight for a spot in the 2024 playoffs.