Matt Adams could see something special go

Cardinals from the opposing side of the field with the Washington Nationals.He recognized the solid pitching and timely hitting that have made the Cardinals baseball’s hottest team in the dog days of August. So Adams couldn’t believe his luck when he found out St. Louis had claimed him off waivers earlier this week.The move brings Adams back to the organization that drafted him in 2009. More importantly Troy Tulowitzki Jersey , he’s on a team that has gone from wild-card hopeful to threatening the NL Central-leading Cubs.“They’re playing with a fire and taking every pitch like it’s the last pitch they’ll ever play,” Adams said. “How they go about their daily business is something special to watch.”St. Louis has undergone quite a transformation since firing manager Mike Matheny on July 14.At that time, the Cardinals were 47-46 and trailed the Cubs by 7 ½ games. After sweeping the Dodgers on Wednesday to win their eighth consecutive series, the Cardinals have won 24 of 35 and are 17-4 this month to pull within 2 ½ games of Chicago.They’re tied for the NL’s top wild-card spot, too.Riding an eight-game road winning streak, St. Louis visits Colorado on Friday. The Cardinals are 37-29 away from home this season.“Everyone’s kind of getting amped up,” second baseman Kolten Wong said.The turnaround is happening under bench coach Mike Shildt Marcus Stroman Jersey , who replaced Matheny when he was fired after seven years in a dramatic move by a club that hasn’t changed managers often. Matheny was just the second since 1996.Shildt began as a scout with the Cardinals organization and eventually combined those duties with being a part-time minor league coach. Elevating the 50-year-old veteran to interim status has gone over well in the clubhouse.“Shildt’s been really good at letting us play our own game and letting us play the way we want to play. That’s the biggest thing,” Wong said. “We have so many different personalities and different guys in this clubhouse. You just have to allow people to be themselves and eventually people are going to mesh together.”Adams is eager to contribute, although there is no defined role for him. He could see time at first base against right-handed pitching or in left field with Marcell Ozuna on the disabled list or in right field.The Cardinals could use his left-handed bat off the bench. He hit 56 homers in his six previous seasons with the team.“I just kind of want to stay out of everybody’s way and do my part and mesh with them,” Adams said. “I don’t want to be that guy who comes in here and tries to do too much and messes up something special.”The Cardinals outscored Los Angeles 13-6 over three games in their first sweep at Dodger Stadium since 2006, putting the five-time defending NL West champions into a tailspin.St. Louis is succeeding with a mix of youngsters and veterans that have embraced each other.Rookies Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson and Jordan Hicks combined to hold the Dodgers to two hits Wednesday, when rookie Tyler O’Neill tied the game with a homer and Paul DeJong won it with a two-run shot.Yadier Molina has found his stride http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-devon-travis-jersey , too, hitting a go-ahead two-run homer Tuesday. Wong made what Shildt called a “Gold Glove-caliber” defensive play the same night. The defense is holding the opposition to an average of 3.44 runs, best in the NL since the All-Star break.“These guys have ability and they have aggression. They believe in themselves and they’re in attack mode,” Shildt said. “It’s about not giving in, regardless of the situation.”In just over a month, the Cardinals have gone from a team in line to miss the playoffs for a third straight year — something they haven’t done since 1997-99 — to contending for a division title.Adams has fond memories of his previous playoff runs with the Cardinals.“I want to get back there this year,” he said. Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesNew York Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Aaron Hicks will likely hit leadoff for the team this season http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-roy-halladay-jersey , though Aaron Judge could be used against some left-handers.Brett Gardner hit in the leadoff spot for most of 2018.Hicks, 29, hit .248/.366/.467, with 27 home runs and 79 runs batted in last season. He hit in the leadoff spot in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox due to the struggles of Andrew McCutchen, who had taken Gardner's place as the Yankees' primary leadoff guy."I also like him, because we don鈥檛 have a lot of lefties right now, his left-handed bat in the middle Dalton Pompey Jersey , you like him splitting up [right-handed hitting] guys," Boonetold reportersWednesday. "We will kind of evolve over spring training. My expectation is that we will see a lot of different orders depending on right and left as spring training unfolds and the start of the season unfolds."Hicks put up his best numbers last season while batting in the leadoff spot. His lack of elite speed makes him an unconventional option, but with Gardner's career on the downslope, the Yankees really don't have a traditional leadoff hitter.Judge in the leadoff spot would be even farther off the beaten path. The slugger has just 15 stolen bases in his career but has a career on-base percentage of .398. He'd also pack some pop that could get the Yankees ahead 1-0 in the blink of an eye.