Fastball

St. Louis Cardinals Closer Made Awesome Team History in First Half of Season

As the St. Louis Cardinals get ready to start the second half of the season, it's worth noting that closer Ryan Helsley made some awesome team history in the first half.

Brady Farkas

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) throw against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) throw against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports
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The St. Louis Cardinals open up the second half of the season on Friday night against the Atlanta Braves and they'll do so with a 50-46 record that has them in second place in the National League Central.

As the Brewers slipped up before the break, St. Louis has moved to within 4.5 games of the division lead.

One of the many reasons why the Cardinals have been able to right the ship in 2024 is the stellar play of closer Ryan Helsley. The flamethrower represented the Cardinals in the All-Star Game this past week and made some awesome team history in the first half of the season. He did not actually pitch in the All-Star Game.

Per the Cardinals on social media:

Ryan Helsley made history in the first half of the season with a club record 32 saves before the All-Star Break!

Here's a look back on all 32 of them!

The 30-year-old Oklahoma native is now a two-time All-Star. He's 3-3 this year with a 2.36 ERA. He made his major league debut back in 2019 and is 24-13 lifetime with a 2.75 ERA. He's been a reliever exclusively in his career and has already surpassed his career in saves with the 32 in the first half. That also leads all of baseball at the break. He leads the National League in appearances with 39.

Game one of the Cardinals and Braves series will be played on Friday night at 7:20 p.m. at Truist Park. Neither team has announced a starter yet.

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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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