Fastball

St. Louis Cardinals Backstop Moves Up in National League History with Big Game Friday

Willson Contreras missed a lot of time this year because of injury, but he's back now and making an impact for the St. Louis Cardinals, who remain in the National League playoff race.

Brady Farkas

St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Willson Contreras (40) reacts after hitting a home run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Busch Stadium on July 28.
St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Willson Contreras (40) reacts after hitting a home run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Busch Stadium on July 28. / Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports
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The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals on Friday night, 8-5, in an in-state interleague battle. With the win, the Cardinals are now 60-57 and just 1.5 games back of the final wild card spot in the National League.

The Royals, who currently own the final spot in the American League, are now 64-53.

In the win, the Cardinals were paced by catcher Willson Contreras, who went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI. The 32-year-old backstop also moved up a unique list in National League history with the multi-home run effort.

Per @StatsCentre on social media:

Most career multi-home run games by a (primary) catcher in the National League:
37- Mike Piazza
28- Gary Carter
22- Roy Campanella
20- Javy Lopez
19- Johnny Bench
16- Todd Hundley
15- Willson Contreras (Via 2 in an 8-5 @Cardinals win over the Royals on Friday)
14- Gabby Hartnett

Considering that several of those names are in the Hall of Fame, that's elite company for Contreras to be in. Contreras has spent his entire career in the National League, playing seven years with the Chicago Cubs before spending the last two with St. Louis. A lifetime .258 hitter, Contreras is hitting .261 this season. He's got 15 home runs despite missing more than a month of action with a fractured arm.

The Cardinals and Royals will play again on Saturday night with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. ET. Andre Pallante will pitch for St. Louis while Michael Wacha gets the ball for KC. Wacha is 8-6, while Pallante is 4-6.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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