37-year old righty reliever Ryan Franklin just keeps things rolling at the end of games for the Cardinals. He has pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this year and he is 6-2 with 22 saves, a 3.61 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Franklin is once again pounding the strike zone as he has only walked 7 batters in 52 1/3 innings this year. Franklin isn’t a classic closer as he only has 32 whiffs in 52 1/3 innings but by throwing strikes he keeps his defense on it’s toes and that’s a good thing.

The Cardinals have placed lefty reliever Dennys Reyes on the 15-day disabled list with a left elbow strain. Reyes has pitched in 50 games (0 starts) for the Cards this year and he is 2-1 with 1 save, a 3.94 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Cardinals have recalled 25-year old righty reliever Fernando Salas to replace Reyes in the pen. Salas pitched in 12 games (0 starts) earlier this year with the Cardinals and he is 0-0 with a 2.51 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Salas will likely do a good job for the Cardinals but they will still miss Reyes.

The Cardinals have released 28-year old lefty reliever Reynel Pinto. Pinto pitched in 18 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Cardinals this year and he was 0-0 with a 4.78 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. Pinto walked 22 batters in only 26 1/3 innings which is what likely earned him his release. Pinto did strike out 31 batters so all was not bad in the minors for him. I’m sure some other team will give Pinto another chance before the year is out but the Cardinals did the right thing as he wasn’t going to help them any time soon.

The Cardinals have acquired 35-year old righty swinging 3B Pedro Feliz and cash from the Astros for 25-year old righty reliever David Carpenter. Feliz has played in 97 games for the Astros this year and he was 64 of 289 (.221 avg, .555 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 4 homers and 31 RBIs. He has now played in 1,262 games in 11 years in the majors and he is 1,040 of 4,134 (.252 avg, .704 OPS) with 473 runs scored, 139 homers, 589 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Carpenter was pitching well in A-ball for the Cardinals. He pitched in 49 games (0 starts) in A-ball this year and he was 5-3 with 20 saves, a 2.36 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Despite his success in the minors this year Carpenter was not one of the better prospects in the Cardinals’ minor league system. Feliz will likely immediately step into the starting lineup for the Cardinals at 3B with Felipe Lopez bumping Brendan Ryan to the bench at SS.

Righty starting pitcher Jake Westbrook is making a good first impression for the Cardinals. He has started 3 games for the Cardinals and he is 1-0 with a 3.32 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He has whiffed 19 batters while walking only 2 in his first 19 innings as he is pounding the strike zone with his impressive sinking fastball. The Cardinals have a good defense behind Wesbtrook so look for him to continue to have success pounding the strike zone.