Which St. Louis Cardinals Have Been the Most 'Clutch' This Young Season?

The St. Louis Cardinals open another important early-season series against the defending NL Central champs today at Busch. Both clubs find themselves looking up a the Pirates in the division standings as the calendar approaches May. The Cardinals sit in second place after losing a weekend series at home to Pittsburgh thanks in part to the fact that they plated just two runs combined in the series' second and third games.

On paper, the Cardinals offense is about where one would expect it to be. El Birdos are currently tied for third in the NL in runs per game. St. Louis is averaging 4.75 runs per game, which ties them with Cincy. The two NL Central rivals trail the Rockies (5.08) and Mets (5.00) in runs per game. However, the Cardinals' runs per game is higher than one would expect given their overall offensive line.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS OFFENSIVE STATS & NL RANK

The component parts of the Cardinals offense indicate a team that should be scoring runs at a far lower rate than they currently are. As Dave Cameron noted earlier this week in an excellent post at Fangraphs, this is because of, "The Importance of Sequencing." That is, the Cardinals have had excellent situational hitting. I've updated one of the charts from Cameron's post and added the RISP with 2 outs split.

2013 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS SITUATIONAL HITTING SPLITS

The Cardinals are where they are this year because of starting pitching and clutch hitting. However, the offense has stalled for long and frustrating stretches because the Redbirds have failed to get men on base. It's quite striking, actually, because hardly any St. Louis players have put up good numbers while batting with the bases empty this young season.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS INDIVIDUAL BATTING STATS WITH BASES EMPTY

It's a team-wide failure. Only four Cardinals have an OBP over .300 with the bases empty. While the opportunities to bat with ducks on the pond may be few and far between, St. Louis have hit well in such opportunities.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS INDIVIDUAL BATTING STATS WITH MEN ON BASE

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS INDIVIDUAL BATTING STATS WITH RISP

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS INDIVIDUAL BATTING STATS WITH RISP & 2 OUTS

The Cardinals will not continue to hit as poorly as they have with the bases empty. They also won't continue to hit as well as they have with men on base, RISP, and RISP with 2 outs. Nonetheless, their early season clutch hitting is the reason they are tied with the Reds for third in the NL in runs per game and a big reason why they're a half-game behind the first-place Pirates.