2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, May, Carpenter ties Cardinals' leadoff record with 6 RBI
Reliever Jonathan Broxton started the season with a 2.25 ERA through May 19, but after allowing five earned runs while recording one out against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 20 at Busch Stadium, his ERA jumped to 4.96, and the Diamondbacks held a 9–2 advantage. As a result, backup infielder Rubén Tejada made his first major league appearance as a pitcher in the ninth inning, pitching one complete inning while allowing two earned runs on back-to-back home runs to Chris Herrmann and Brandon Drury.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, May, Alex Reyes returns from 50-game suspension
The Cardinals No. 1 pitching prospect and No. 11 in all of MLB, Alex Reyes, returned from his 50-game suspension, pitching four scoreless innings on May 22, for AAA Memphis. He gave up two singles, walked three, and struck out eight. He tested positive for marijuana, and Major League Baseball suspended Reyes on November 9, 2015, for 50 games including the remainder of his Arizona Fall League play, and start of the 2016 season.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, May, Randal Grichuk gets his first walk-off HR
Center fielder Randal Grichuk hit his first career walk-off home run on May 23 in a 4–3 win against the Cubs.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, May, Mitch Harris to 60-day DL; Cards buy José Martínez from KC Royals
Reliever Mitch Harris is transferred to the 60-day DL, and the team bought LF José Martínez from the Kansas City Royals for cash.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, May, Matt Carpenter on Paternity Leave, Greg Garcia recalled
Third Baseman Matt Carpenter was granted paternity leave to attend the birth of his first child on May 25, causing him to miss the rubber game against the Chicago Cubs. The team can replace him on the roster for up to three days before going with only 24 active players. The Cardinals recalled Greg Garcia from AAA Memphis to take Carpenter's place on the active roster. After missing three games (May 25–27), Carpenter returned and Greg Garcia was also kept on the roster, hitting a torrid .615 for the season. Rubén Tejada was designated for assignment for the move to make room for Carpenter and to keep Garcia. Tejada had signed a one-year $1.5 mil. contract, but only hit .176 (6-for-34) with two doubles. Tejada can now choose to accept the Cardinals' assignment to Triple-A, or sign with another team.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, May, Stephen Piscotty's first career Grand Slam, Mike Matheny's 400th win and Holliday's 1,000th hit with Cardinals
While playing the Nationals in the seventh inning of a 2–1 loss at Busch Stadium on May 26, Stephen Drew hit a high infield fly that stayed over the pitcher's mound. With both Aledmys Díaz and Mike Leake attempting to catch the ball, Molina posited himself and waited. As the ball deflected off Díaz' glove, he almost collided with Leake, but Molina instinctively moved his glove and caught the ball before it hit the ground.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, May, Stephen Piscotty's first career Grand Slam, Mike Matheny's 400th win and Holliday's 1,000th hit with Cardinals
The Cardinals defeated the Nationals the next day, 6–2, as Stephen Piscotty hit his first career grand slam against Max Scherzer, Garcia homered and drew two walks batting leadoff and Mike Matheny achieved his 400th career managerial win. He managed his 700th game on May 30, a 6–0 win against the Milwaukee Brewers. Matt Holliday collected his 1,000th career hit with the Cardinals on May 31 against the Brewers.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Brandon Moss ties franchise pinch-hit home run record
In a 3–1 loss to the Brewers on June 1, Brandon Moss' 10th home run, a pinch-hit, accounted for the only Cardinals' run of the game. In the 54th game of 2016, this tied the franchise club record for pinch-hit home runs in a season with 10, set in 1998. The Major League record is 14, set in 2001, by both the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants. In 2001, the Diamondbacks were World Series champions, while the Cardinals and Giants in those respective years, hosted Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds both breaking the individual single-season home run record. The 2016 Cardinals, with 72 home runs at the one-third mark as a team, were 32 ahead of the year before. Through this point, Moss and Hazelbaker both led the 2016 team with three pinch-hit home runs.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Díaz and Oh among early frontrunners for NL Rookie of the Year Award
Both Aledmys Díaz and Seung-Hwan Oh garnered early attention for the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award. As of June 6, Díaz was third in the NL in batting at .328 and had hit eight home runs and 30 RBIs. Oh, in his first 31 games and 32+2⁄3 innings pitched, had struck out 46 batters – tied for first among NL relievers – while walking eight and permitting an ERA of 1.65.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Kolten Wong optioned to AAA
On June 6, 2B Kolten Wong was optioned to AAA-Memphis, in anticipation of Jhonny Peralta's activation from the disabled list.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Matt Carpenter wins NL Player of the Week Award
On June 6, Matt Carpenter won the NL Major League Baseball Player of the Week Award for the May 30 – June 5-week. He batted .560 (14-for-25), with five doubles, two triples, three RBI, and 10 runs scored. He led all of MLB with a .577 OBP and his 10 runs. He slugged .920 for a 1.497 OPS. This was his second career weekly award, having won previously for the week of April 13–19, 2015. He won it less than two weeks after the birth of his first child, daughter Kinley on May 25.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Wong recalled, Jeremy Hazelbaker optioned
On June 17, Kolten Wong was recalled, while OF'er Jeremy Hazelbaker was optioned to AAA-Memphis. Wong played some of his seven games in centerfield, while hitting .429 (12-for-28), with 4 HR and 11 RBI. He hit safely in all seven games. Hazelbaker hit .250 in his 61 G with 7 HR, 3 of them as a pinch-hitter. He led the team with 4 SB.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Randal Grichuk optioned, Tommy Pham recalled
The day after Wong was recalled, OF'er Tommy Pham was recalled from AAA-Memphis on June 18, and struggling OF'er Randal Grichuk was optioned. Grichuk hit only .206 with 8 HR, and 27 RBI in 62 G.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Seth Maness activated, Dean Kiekhefer optioned
For the third consecutive day (June 19), the Cardinals recalled (activated) a player, and optioned another. RHP reliever Seth Maness was activated, and Dean Kiekhefer was optioned to AAA-Memphis.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Rosenthal removed as 'Closer'
On June 25, manager Mike Matheny told closer Trevor Rosenthal he would be used in a different role. The move will bump Rosenthal out of a closer's job that has been his since late in 2013. He had a frightful 14.14 ERA in June and 5.63 for the season, and blew a save opportunity on June 24, when he gave up in succession a double, a walk, and then a game-winning three-run home run when leading 3–1 against the Seattle Mariners. He averaged 7.9 walks per 9 inn. His percentage of first-pitch strikes was only 61%.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Rosenthal removed as 'Closer'
Matheny has not named a replacement closer, but said he will instead consider Seung Hwan Oh, Kevin Siegrist, and Jonathan Broxton as options for future save situations. Oh compiled 357 career saves pitching in Korea and Japan, and currently ranks among the top eight National League relievers in ERA (1.66), strikeouts (51), Holds (14) and WHIP (0.79). Broxton was an All-Star closer for the Dodgers in 2009 and 2010. He has compiled 118 career saves, though none since 2014. Siegrist is the only Cardinals reliever besides Rosenthal to close a game (May 12) this season. He has tallied seven career saves and entered Saturday with a season ERA of 2.79.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Cardinals tie franchise record with 13 extra-base hits
The Cardinals tied a franchise record, not seen since 1940, with 13 extra-base hits (6 Home Runs, 5 Doubles, 2 Triples) in an 11–6 win against the Seattle Mariners, at Safeco Field on June 26. The six home runs, second time in a game this season (April 15), boosted the team total to 101. They had 137 in all of 2015, and 105 in 2014. Matt Carpenter tripled, and hit two home runs in the barrage of 17 hits. Tommy Pham also hit two home runs. Jedd Gyorko hit one, as did Matt Holliday, the 150th for him as a Cardinals' player. All six home runs were solo blasts and all came in the sixth-ninth innings. The six home runs were one short of the seven for the franchise record, set in 1996, and 1913.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Brayan Pena activated, Eric Fryer DFA
Backup catcher Brayan Pena was activated prior to the game on June 28, after missing 75 games on the DL. Eric Fryer was designated for assignment. These moves drop the 40-man roster personnel to 38.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Cardinals worst in NL Base-running
Through the games on June 28, the Cardinals are the worst base-running team in the NL. The stat is called BsR, explained on the stat site Fangraphs as an all-encompassing base running statistic that considers "stolen bases, caught stealings, and other base running plays (taking extra bases, being thrown out on the bases, etc)." A BsR number of six is "great," while zero is "average" and negative-six is "awful." The Padres actually lead the NL with an astounding 12.2 BsR, while the Cubs are at 9.7. The Cards are minus-9.7. In 2015, the Cards finished 15th in baseball with a 0.7 BsR, essentially right at the league average.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Cardinals below .400 at Home
The Cardinals ended June with a 15–23 (.395) home record. The team won 50-plus home games in each of Mike Matheny's first four seasons, has now lost seven consecutive home games. They are 25–15 (.625) in away games, trailing only the Cubs and Giants. The Cardinals haven't finished a season with a losing home record since 1999. That team finished 75–86 overall.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, June, Cardinals below .400 at Home
Brandon Moss hit the longest home run in Busch Stadium history in a 4–2 loss to Kansas City on June 30, which traveled 477 feet (145 m), and to that point, was the second-longest home run of the season in the major leagues.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Kevin Siegrist on DL
Newly appointed part-time closer Kevin Siegrist had his season interrupted with a bout of mononucleosis. He was placed on the DL July 1, retroactive to June 30. Sam Tuivailala was recalled.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Yadier Molina gets 1,500th Hit; Seung Hwan Oh his first Save
Playing Milwaukee on July 2, Yadier Molina recorded his 1,500th career hit, becoming the 34th catcher in MLB history, and second for the Cardinals, after Ted Simmons. Oh recorded his first MLB save by pitching a perfect ninth with two strikeouts.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Cardinals 43–38 after First One-Half
After the 9–8 win on July 3, the club is 43–38 at the end of the first half of the season. Their third consecutive Home win raises it to 18–23 (.439). Away, they are 25–15 (.625). In 2015, the club was 55–26 (.679) at Home, 45–36 (.556) Away.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Brandon Moss on DL, Randal Grichuk recalled
On July 5, Infielder/Outfielder Brandon Moss was placed on the DL because of a sprained left ankle. Randal Grichuk was recalled.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Matt Carpenter named to NL All-Star team
On July 5, Matt Carpenter was named as a reserve (3B) to the NL All-Star team in San Diego, July 12.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Brayan Pena back on DL, Alberto Rosario purchased
Brayan Pena was back on the DL on July 6, with a left knee inflammation, after making only two starts after activated on June 28. He started July 5's game and went 0-for-3 and allowed a passed ball, a wild pitch and two stolen bases. The club purchased Alberto Rosario from AAA-Memphis.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Sweeps for the Cards don't mean much
The Cardinals had swept 4 teams this season coming into July. In the 2 series following each sweep, they are 9–15. After the sweep of the Brewers in the beginning of July, they lost 3 of 4 to the Pirates, winning the last game to make that record 10–18. They then went to Milwaukee, losing the 1st game, but came back to win the final 2. Now 12–19 after sweeping an opponent.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Matt Carpenter on DL, will miss All-Star Game
Matt Carpenter strained his right oblique muscle swinging at a pitch against the Pirates on July 6, and won't be able to play in the July 12 All-Star Game. Aledmys Diaz will replace him on that roster. Entering Thursday (July 7), Diaz's .319 average led NL shortstops. He ranked second with a .534 slugging percentage, and 54 runs scored. He is the first Cardinals' rookie since Albert Pujols to make the All-Star team. Carpenter is the fourth player to go on the DL in the last week. As a leadoff hitter, Carpenter entered the day leading the NL with a .421 on-base percentage, and a .991 OPS. He also ranks among the league's top six in doubles (25), extra-base hits (44), walks (58), triples (5), runs (56), and slugging percentage (.570).


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Siegrist activated, Tuivailala optioned
Before the first game after the All-Star Game break, on July 15, LH reliever Kevin Siegrist was activated from the DL, after missing 10 games. Sam Tuivailala was optioned to AAA.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Wainwright pitches 3-hit shutout
Adam Wainwright pitched a three-hit, complete-game shutout and 5–0 win against Miami on July 15; the first hit he allowed was a double to Adeiny Hechavarria in the sixth inning. It was Wainwright's 10th career shutout, and 22nd complete game, coming on the night of celebrating the 10th anniversary and tribute to the 2006 World Series championship team. Wainwright was a reliever, and threw the final, winning pitch in that World Series. It was the sixth shutout by the team in 2016, against four times being shutout. The Marlins, who have four players in the lineup batting higher than .300, were shut out for just the fourth time this year.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Cardinals sweep Padres and their former infielder Gyorko contributes big
In the consecutive starts against the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres on July 10 and 18, Mike Leake struck out at least ten batters in consecutive games for the first time in his career, after previously having two total ten-strikeout games in 189 starts. Covering his previous 48+2⁄3 innings, he had struck out 45 batters while walking three.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Cardinals sweep Padres and their former infielder Gyorko contributes big
In the first three games of the July 18–21 series against the Padres, Jedd Gyorko homered in each game. That included a streak of five consecutive games against San Diego with a home run, totaling six. He also had 13 hits in 21 at bats with 10 RBI. He had hit the go-ahead home run in both of the first two games of the series, including driving in all three in the 3–2 win in the second game. By saving both games of a doubleheader on July 20, Seung-hwan Oh was the first Cardinals pitcher to do so since Jason Isringhausen in 2004. On July 21, with a 5–5 tie in the bottom of the ninth, Aledmys Díaz batted against Carlos Villanueva with the bases loaded and singled home the game-winning run for his first career walk-off hit.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Matt Adams wins 16-inn. game
On July 22, while playing the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Adams hit a 444 feet (135 m) home run in the 16th inning for walk-off, 4–3, win. It was the second time in his career he had hit a walk-off home run in the 16th inning.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Mike Mayers to make debut July 24
The Cardinals announced on July 23 that they had selected the contract of right-hand pitcher Mike Mayers to major his major league debut and start the following day against the Dodgers, a Sunday nationally televised game on ESPN at Busch Stadium. Reliever Miguel Socolovich was optioned to AAA-Memphis. The club will be the last team in the Majors to employ a sixth starting pitcher this season when Mayers takes the mound. The need to find a fill-in starter was the result of the Cardinals having to play a doubleheader on July 20, and then a 16-inn. game on July 22.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Mike Mayers to make debut July 24
He was destroyed by the Dodgers, giving up 9 runs, all earned, 8 hits (one Double, two HRs), walking two, striking out only one in just 1.1 IP. He endured the shortest start by a pitcher making his Major League debut in 12 years, and the first Cardinals pitcher in 92 years to allow six first-inning runs in his debut. His early exit meant that a bullpen two days removed from covering 10 innings had to shoulder another 7 2/3. Seth Maness threw a career-high 53 pitches over 3 2/3 innings to settle things.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Cardinals option Mayers, purchase Jerome Williams, Walden to 60-day DL
After the Mayers' debacle the previous night, on July 25, the Cardinals optioned him back to AAA, and purchased the contract of RHP Jerome Williams, 34. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, Jordan Walden was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Rosenthal on DL, Kiekhefer recalled
RHP Reliever Trevor Rosenthal was placed on the 15-day disabled list July 26, from a right shoulder inflammation in his rotator cuff. LHP Dean Kiekhefer was recalled from AAA. RHP Sam Tuivailala will be recalled after the opener of that day's double-header to serve as the 26th man.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Cardinals win in 9th vs. NY Mets, end Familia's save streak
The Cardinals won the scintillating back-and-forth rubber game 5–4 on July 27, in New York with a two-run ninth-inning rally, pushing them past that team in the Wild Card standings. Yadier Molina tied the game 4–4 with a one-out double to centerfield in the top of the ninth, and later, a two-out pinch-hit double by Kolten Wong gave them the deciding fifth run. It was the first blown save by Mets' closer Jeurys Familia, who had 36 for the season going into the ninth inning, since July 30, 2015. He had 52 consecutive saves in that span of 363 days (excluding the 2015 playoffs), the third longest streak in history.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Cardinals have best Road record in MLB, move into second Wild Card spot
With their 11–6 win in Miami July 29, the Cardinals have a 31–17 (.646) Road record, best in baseball. Their Home record is 25–30 (.455), for a 56–47 record, nine-games-over .500 high point for the season. They also moved past the Marlins into the second Wild Card spot, behind the Dodgers, who have a two-game lead. The game marked the 10th time this season that the Cardinals have scored 11 or more runs in a game. From 2014 to 2015, the club reached that level of offensive output only five times. The burst of scoring snapped a streak of six consecutive one-run wins by the club.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Cardinals trade OF Charlie Tilson to Chicago White Sox for LHP Zach Duke
On the day before the non-waiver trade deadline this year (Mon. Aug. 1, 3pm), the Cardinals traded outfielder Charlie Tilson for LHP reliever Zach Duke, 33. Duke led the AL with 53 appearances mostly in a setup role which is how the Cardinals plan to use him, posting 2–0, 2.63 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over 37+2⁄3 innings. Duke is under contract in 2017, earning $5 mil. this year and $5.5 mil. next year. LH batters hit .264 against him compared to .182 for righties, a backwards split contrasting with the usual split for pitchers. But RH batters have walked 13 times, giving them a .325 OBP against Duke, compared to him walking LH batters only 3 times for a .299 OBP.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, July, Home 25–30, Away 31–19
At the end of July, the Cardinals HOME record was 25–30 (.455), AWAY record 31–19 (.620).


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Aledmys Diaz to DL
All-Star shortstop Aledmys Diaz (26 on August 1), will go on the DL August 2, with a hairline fracture in his right thumb. He was hit by a pitch on July 31, from Marlins' starter Andrew Cashner. He was expected to miss several weeks. Jhonny Peralta will take over at shortstop when he comes off the DL, August 2. Diaz was hitting .312/.376/.518 with 14 home runs and 57 RBIs. He was the only Cardinals' player to appear in last month's All-Star Game.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Brandon Moss and Jhonny Peralta activated from DL, Zach Duke added
Brandon Moss (missed 25 G), and Jhonny Peralta (missed 15 G) were activated from the DL on August 2. Recent trade LH-reliever Zach Duke was added to the roster. To make room, OF Randal Grichuk and LH-reliever Dean Kiekhefer were optioned to AAA Memphis.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Tyler Lyons on DL
The rash of debilitating injuries continued on August 2, when it was determined after the game that LH-reliever Tyler Lyons had a stress reaction on his sore right knee, and would be placed on the DL, August 3. He had undergone treatment, but a scan revealed it was more than just discomfort. The move to the DL was retroactive to July 31, and Dean Kiekhefer was recalled from Memphis.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Carpenter activated from DL, Kiekhefer optioned
Infielder Matt Carpenter was activated on August 5, after missing 24 games from his in-game July 6 injury. LH-reliever Dean Kiekhefer was optioned to AAA-Memphis.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Cardinals lose series to worst team in baseball
The Cardinals before the August 5 game (57–51 .528) lost two of three games to the worst team—with the fewest runs scored in baseball, the Atlanta Braves, (39–69 .361), thanks to the final two games. The relief pitchers in the ninth inning of game two (5–13) were blasted for six runs, and starter-ace Adam Wainwright was hit hard for six runs in the first two innings in game three (3–6), although kept in the game through six innings giving up nine hits in total, but no more runs. Carlos Martinez now 10–7, and Wainwright now 9–6, took the losses. The team has now lost consecutive series, six of eight games, against last-place clubs (Cincinnati Reds and Braves). The team dropped to 1⁄2 game behind the Miami Marlins for the final Wild Card spot.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Wildest and largest 9th inning comeback win all season
In the wildest and largest ninth-inning comeback win all season, the Cardinals at home on August 8, scored all five of their runs in the bottom of the ninth after two outs, for a 5–4 win. Previously, the team was an awful 2–45 when trailing after eight innings. The team fell into a 0–4 hole, and were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. It was the 10th time in the last 15 games that a starter could not get to the sixth inning.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Wildest and largest 9th inning comeback win all season
Down to his last strike at 1–2, Brandon Moss got the tying run in with a bases-loaded walk, and Yadier Molina then finished off the improbable comeback win by getting hit in the ribs by a pitch. The Cardinals have won three of the last four Major League games to end on a walk-off hit-by-pitch. It happened most recently for St. Louis on Aug. 14, 2014, when Jon Jay took a pitch off his body. That was also against the Reds. With the win, the team got its 59th win against 53 losses, tying the Miami Marlins for the second Wild Card spot with 50 games remaining in the season. Michael Wacha could go only five innings, as the fifth starter in a week to not get to the sixth inning.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Michael Wacha on DL, Alex Reyes purchased, Pena to 60-day DL
RHP Michael Wacha was placed on the DL with right shoulder inflammation on August 9, the day after his five-inning start. Backup catcher Brayan Pena was transferred to the 60-day DL, to make room for the Cardinals purchasing their long-awaited, ninth-best prospect in baseball, RHP Alex Reyes from AAA-Memphis, and added him to the roster. He made his debut that evening (20 days before his 22nd birthday), pitching a perfect ninth inning in getting his first batter to strike out, with a speed gun registering 101.4 mph. The next two batters were ground outs.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Matt Adams on DL, Grichuk recalled
The merry-go-round on yet another Cardinals' player injured and to the DL continues, this time it is first-baseman Matt Adams early on August 11, with a right shoulder inflammation. Some extra throwing work earlier in the week may have triggered the injury. It was not considered prudent to have Adams stay unplayable on the bench with four big games in Chicago on Aug. 11–14, against the division leading Cubs (71–41 .634), on a season-high nine-game winning streak. The Cardinals are 12 games behind (60–54 .526), going 4–6 on their last ten games, but tied with the Miami Marlins for the final Wild Card spot, with 48 games to go. Outfielder Randal Grichuk was recalled from AAA.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Matt Holliday fractures thumb, heads to DL
For the 11th time since July 1, another Cardinals' player is headed to the DL. Matt Holliday had his right thumb fractured from a HBP from Cubs' reliever Mike Montgomery in the 10th inning of their first game of the four-game series, August 11. It will also be the fifth Cardinals' player on the DL since the beginning of August. Four of the 10 who were on the DL have returned to the active roster.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Luke Weaver makes debut, Reyes first win, ends Cubs 11-game win streak
Luke Weaver made his debut in Chicago on August 13 ending their 11-game unbeaten streak in the month, pitching four innings, giving up just two runs on four hits (Double and two-run HR by Addison Russell), striking out three, and walking three. Alex Reyes gets his first major league win in relief, pitching three innings (fifth-seventh), giving up only one hit, while walking one and striking out three. Brandon Moss hit his 20th home run, a solo blast in the sixth, cutting the Chicago lead to 2–1.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Luke Weaver makes debut, Reyes first win, ends Cubs 11-game win streak
Jedd Gyorko hit his 17th home run in the seventh, a solo blast that tied the score. Two runs on a wild pitch and a bases-loaded walk gave the Birds a 4–2 lead. But the big blow was then a grand slam in the eighth inning by 25th birthday boy Randal Grichuk. It was only the second time a Cardinals' player has hit a grand slam on his birthday, with Colby Rasmus the first. It was the first slam by a Cardinals' player at Wrigley Field since Adam Kennedy in 2008. Grichuk has hit two home runs since his recall from AAA on August 11.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Seth Maness to DL, Sam Tuivailala recalled, Holliday to have surgery
For the 12th time since July 1, and sixth for August, a Cardinals' player is headed to the DL. Reliever Seth Maness on August 16 came aboard the DL train for the second time in 2016 (May 14 – June 19), missing 31 games. He will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on August 18, missing the remaining 44 games in 2016, and maybe all of the 2017 season. Reliever Sam Tuivailala was recalled. Matt Holliday will have surgery August 17 on his fractured right thumb. His prognosis for returning before the end of the season is unknown. After a medical review of his injury, Maness had surgery to fix his Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint instead of Tommy John surgery ligament replacement, drastically reducing his recovery time from 12 to 15 months to 6–8 months, which would make him available for Spring Training in 2017.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Luke Weaver gets first Win
Rookie Luke Weaver got his first major league win (now 1–1), at home in the first of a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics, winning 3–1 on August 26. He celebrated his 23rd birthday on the 21st. Jedd Gyorko gave him all the runs he would need with a two-run home run in the first inning. Weaver became the sixth Cardinals' pitcher since 1913 to strike out seven in his home debut. He gave up just four hits (Double and a Home Run) and two walks in six innings.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Luke Weaver gets first Win
His ERA dropped to 3.60 and WHIP to 1.18 with 22 strikeouts, against 17 hits and five walks in his season total of 18.2 innings. Native St. Louisan and starter, lefty Ross Detwiler picked up the loss (now 1–3), going 5.1 innings. The A's haven't played in St. Louis since 2010.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Yadier Molina 10th highest in Cardinals games played
Yadier Molina played in his 1,580th game as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals on August 26, 10th all-time. He tied Rogers Hornsby and Ray Lankford on the list of most games played by a Cardinals' player.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Alex Reyes to make first MLB start
Alex Reyes, 21, will make his first MLB start at home on August 27, while Mike Leake recovers from a case of the shingles. He turns 22 on August 29. As a reliever, he has pitched 9+1⁄3 innings, has held opponents to five hits and no runs. He's struck out 13 and walked four. In 14 starts with Triple-A Memphis this season, Reyes went 2–3 with a 5.23 ERA and 1.454 WHIP. Though he averaged 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings, Reyes was often hampered by a lack of efficiency and lapses in command.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Alex Reyes to make first MLB start
Nevertheless, his repertoire—highlighted by a fastball that can reach triple digits, a curveball and changeup—makes him one of the franchise's most hyped prospects in years. Reyes ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Cardinals' No. 1 prospect and as the eighth-best prospect in baseball. Leake, who is 9–9 with a 4.56 ERA, had not previously missed a start this season.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Alex Reyes to make first MLB start
As of August 27, with Carlos Martinez, 24 (born on Sep. 21), Alex Reyes, 21 (born on Aug. 29), and Luke Weaver, 23, (born on Aug. 21) all in the rotation, the Cardinals have three of the most exciting young starting pitching talents in baseball.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Alex Reyes to make first MLB start
Reyes' start on August 27, at home against the Oakland Athletics showed his potential giving up only two hits (both singles), striking out four and giving up just one run, but also weak spots with lack of command a key factor in his giving up four walks and long innings. He pitched 4+2⁄3 innings, throwing 89 pitches. His fastball hit 100 mph, has an above-average curve, and mixed in 22 changeups which manager Mike Matheny described as "incredible." Another bright side was starting his major league career with 14 scoreless innings, snapped in that fifth inning. His ERA is now an impressive 0.64 over 14 innings in six games (1 Win, 1 Save), striking out 17, walking eight, giving up seven hits for a 1.07 WHIP. In the game, the team blew a 2–1 lead in the eighth inning, losing 2–3.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Cards only 30–37 (.448) at Home, 38–24 (.613) on Road
Through August 28, the team continues to struggle for wins at Home, compared to their No. 1 baseball ranking on the Road. The last time the Cardinals lost more Home games than the 37 presently, was in the non-playoff year, 2007. They averaged 52.5 Home wins during Mike Matheny's first four seasons. They would have to win 11 of their final 14 Home games to finish at Home over .500. Statistically, the biggest inconsistency between the team's home and road results has been on the offensive side. The Cardinals have averaged 5.58 runs per game and 1.58 homers per game away from Busch Stadium. At home, those averages are 4.4 and 1.28, respectively. The difference in home and road ERAs is negligible.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Cards only 30–37 (.448) at Home, 38–24 (.613) on Road
If there's a silver lining for the Cardinals, who hold a half-game lead for the NL's second Wild Card spot, it's this: 19 of their next 26 games will be on the Road, before their final seven games at Home. Only two NL teams have a worse Home record: the Atlanta Braves (19–44) with a 48–83 record, and the Arizona Diamondbacks (25–43) with a 55–76 record. The San Diego Padres are 30–34 with a 55–75 record, and the Philadelphia Phillies are 30–33 with a 60–70 record, for two bad teams that are better at Home. Their arch-rivals in the Central Division, the Chicago Cubs are a blistering 45–19 (.703) at Home, and an excellent 37–28 (,569) on the Road, for an overall MLB best 82–47 (.636), leading the Cardinals by 14 games, with only 33 games remaining.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Mike Leake on DL, Kiekhefer recalled
For the 13th time since July 1, and the seventh in August (six in July), a player is placed on the DL. RHP and starter Mike Leake has a severe case of the shingles and wasn't healing fast enough. His DL on August 29, is retroactive to August 22. He is 9–9 with a 4.56 ERA in 25 starts, and eligible to return on Sept. 6. LHP reliever Dean Kiekhefer was recalled.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, August, Cards can't get to 10 games over .500
For the entirety of a lackluster season, the Cardinals haven't been able to eclipse the 10 games over .500 mark. Prior to the August 31 game against the Brewers, the Cards had gone into five games this season with the chance to get to 10 games over .500 with a win. After the loss to the Brewers, they are now 0–6, while being outscored 15–40 in those games.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Matt Adams activated from DL
On September 2, Matt Adams was activated from the DL, after missing 18 games since August 10, from his right shoulder inflammation. He was hitting .248 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs before his injury. He played five rehab games at AAA-Memphis, hitting .188 including 1 double and 1 home run. The rosters expanded on September 1, allowing the present 26 active players, while 14 remain inactive or on the DL.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Brayan Pena and Carson Kelly added to roster, Maness transferred to 60-day DL
On September 4, catcher Brayan Pena was activated from the 60-day DL, and AAA-Memphis rookie catcher Carson Kelly, 22, was purchased. Shortstop Dean Anna was designated for assignment to make room for Kelly on the 40-man roster. Seth Maness was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Carson Kelly makes his debut in Pittsburgh with hit
Newly called-up catcher Carson Kelly made his debut on September 5, against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a line-drive double in the eighth inning, and then scored his first run. He also was credited with his first assist as catcher in a 2–3 strikeout play.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Three final call-ups for September
Three final call-ups from the minors happened on September 6, when José Martínez (OF) making his major league debut, and two relievers who were here earlier, Mike Mayers, and Sam Tuivailala.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals tie NL record, 25 consecutive games with a HR
Yadier Molina's fourth career grand slam on September 6, gave the 2016 Cardinals an NL record tying 25 consecutive games with at least one home run, matching the San Diego Padres set earlier this year. The major league record is 27 games, set by the 2002 Texas Rangers. The grand slam was Molina's first since 2012. It was the team's 197th home run for 2016, leading the NL. Their team record is 235 set in 2000.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals win in 9th inning, trailing with 2-outs
In yet another improbable comeback on September 6, the Cardinals won a critical game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9–6, with two outs and two strikes against Matt Carpenter in the ninth, trailing 5–6. He homered for the 18th time this season, tying the game at 6-all. Yadier Molina hit a double and then hot-hitting Randal Grichuk smashed his 22nd home run, giving them an 8–6 lead. Jhonny Peralta made it back-to-back with his seventh home run of the year, ending the five-home run night for the Redbirds and a 9–6 win after Seung Hwan Oh got his 16th save.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals win in 9th inning, trailing with 2-outs
Molina in the first inning hit a grand slam, seventh this year, with Matt Adams adding his 14th homer in the third inning for a 5–0 lead. The Pirates stormed back to take the lead after scoring one in the third, one in the fourth, and four in the fifth inning. Mike Mayers got his first major league win in relief with a scoreless eighth inning, keeping the team just one run behind. His debut on July 24 was one of the worst in MLB history, but this night he was perfect.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals win in 9th inning, trailing with 2-outs
Carpenter's home run was the first pinch-hit blast of his career, but the 15th by the team this season setting a new MLB record. The previous Major League high had been 14, set by the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks and 2001 San Francisco Giants. Eight different Cardinals have contributed a pinch-hit homer this season.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Activation of Mike Leake from DL
Mike Leake, recovered from his two-week fight with shingles, was activated on September 7. He started against the Pirates, who were mired in an eight-game losing streak, longest for them since 2011.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Opposing baserunners running wild on pitchers
The Cardinals had allowed 69 steals against them through September 8, while they had stolen only 32. Yadier Molina is not at fault as much as the pitchers letting the runners get good jumps, instead of holding them closer to first base. Since his debut in 2004, the team has never allowed more than 64 steals until this year.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Opposing baserunners running wild on pitchers
Molina's pop time—defined as the time elapsed from the moment the pitch hits the catcher's mitt to the moment the intended fielder receives the throw—is the same as it was last year (1.92 seconds), when he allowed 37 stolen bases and ranked third in the National League with a caught-stealing percentage of 41. That pop time ranks seventh best among all catchers in 2016.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Opposing baserunners running wild on pitchers
The dip in Molina's average arm strength on steal attempts—80.51 mph to 79.85 mph—isn't enough to alone explain the increase in attempts. There is great responsibility on the pitching staff. Mike Leake has allowed a career-high 13 steals for the most on the staff, while Jaime Garcia has allowed 11.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals lose for 38th time at home
Another home loss on September 8, gave the Cardinals 38 at home, most since their franchise 2007 season record. They had 30 wins for a .441 winning percentage, with 13 remaining home games. The 12–5 loss to the lowly Milwaukee Brewers dropped them out of the second Wild Card spot. A club that never had a dozen runs scored off it at home last year has now had it happen three times in 2016. Still seeking their first home series win since July, the Cardinals fell to 2–8 in the first game of a homestand with this loss. The last team to advance to postseason play with a losing home record was the 2001 Atlanta Braves.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Activation of Aledmys Diaz after missing 36 games
Shortstop Aledmys Diaz was activated before the game on September 11, after missing 36 games from a right thumb fracture suffered on July 31. Diaz was hitting .312/.376/.518 with 14 home runs, 25 doubles, 57 RBIs, and 64 runs scored in 96 games at the time of his injury.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals surpass 3 million attendance
For the 13th consecutive year starting in 2004, the team surpassed 3 million in home attendance on September 11.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Carson Kelly makes first start as catcher
Carson Kelly made his first start as catcher on September 11. Fellow rookie Luke Weaver was the starting pitcher. Both started the 2015 season at Class A Advanced Palm Beach. Kelly was taken in the second round in the 2012 draft. Weaver was the Cardinals' first-round pick (27th overall) in the 2014 Draft.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Michael Wacha activated
Former starter Michael Wacha was activated on September 14, and will be placed in the bullpen as a reliever for the remainder of the season.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals to open 2017 season against Cubs at Busch on April 3
The 2017 season opens for the Cardinals against the Cubs at home on April 3 (3:15 pm tentative) for a three=game set. An opening-series matchup between the Cubs and Cards in St. Louis hasn't happened since 2000. It will be the first time since 2011 that the Cardinals will open the season at home. The Cardinals' schedule is home-heavy early, with 50 of the team's 81 home games to be played before the All-Star break. St. Louis will end the year at home with series against division opponents Chicago (Sept. 25–28) and Milwaukee (Sept. 29-Oct. 1).


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Trevor Rosenthal activated from DL, Reyes to starter, Garcia to bullpen
Former closer Trevor Rosenthal was activated from the DL before the September 15 game. Rosenthal went on the DL July 26, with a 5.13 ERA in 40 appearances. He boasted a strikeout rate of 13 per nine innings, but also had the worst walk rate (7.3) of his career. Alex Reyes was promoted from the bullpen to be a starter, replacing the declining and struggling starter Jaime Garcia. The decision by manager Matheny came two days after Garcia lasted a career-short 1+2⁄3 innings in his 29th start of the season. Garcia now shifts to the bullpen.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Trevor Rosenthal activated from DL, Reyes to starter, Garcia to bullpen
His role will be an unfamiliar one, as Garcia hasn't pitched in relief since he was a rookie in 2008. This was not a planned move, but Garcia's 8.23 ERA over his last six starts necessitated a change by the Cardinals, who are locked in a tight Wild Card race with the Giants and Mets. Reyes has made a strong first impression since his Aug. 9 callup. Despite a walk rate of 5.1, he's posted a 1.29 ERA and struck out 34 over 28 innings. In his two previous spot starts, Reyes allowed three runs in 10+2⁄3 innings.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals eliminated from NL Central title
With their 70th loss in San Francisco (76 wins, .521) on September 15, the Cardinals were officially eliminated from the NL Central title. They are 17 games behind the Cubs with 16 games to play. The Cubs having lost earlier, clinched with their previous 93 wins (53 losses .637). It was the first NL Central title for them since 2008. The win moved the Giants one game in front of the New York Mets and two games ahead of the Cardinals in the National League Wild Card standings.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Wainwright sets DH-era RBI record
With four RBI against Colorado on September 20, Adam Wainwright increased his season total to 18, breaking the record for all pitchers in the designated hitter (DH) era – since 1973 – and the most since Ferguson Jenkins drove in 20 for the Cubs in 1971. He presently has 13 hits (7 Doubles, 1 Triple, 2 HRs) in 58 AB for a .224/.250/.483 line. For the modern Cardinals' record, Bob Gibson had 19 RBIs in 1970, with 33 hits (3 Doubles, 1 Triple, 2 HR) in 109 AB for a .303/.347/.404 line.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals' 40,000+ attendance game streak snapped
The Cardinals had a notable attendance streak snapped on September 26, as the club did not draw at least 40,000 at Busch Stadium for the first time since Sept. 24, 2013. The streak spanned 240 games. Monday's announced attendance was 34,942 in a miserable 2–15 loss, keeping them one game out of the second Wild Card spot with six games to play.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals activate Matt Holliday, refuse his $17 mil. 2017 option
Long-time Cardinals' outfielder since 2009, Matt Holliday was activated from the DL on September 30, with a present .242/.318/.450 line with 19 home runs and 60 RBIs. He was informed earlier in the week that the team would not pick up his 2017 option for $17 million, and would pay the contractual $1 million buyout.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals activate Matt Holliday, refuse his $17 mil. 2017 option
He signed a $120 million seven-year extension deal after the 2009 season in the largest contract in Cardinals' history. He averaged 147 games played for the first five years, but injuries severely hurt his playing time in 2015 and this year. He posted five 20-homer seasons and four 90-RBI seasons. Holliday produced a cumulative WAR of 24.1 in those eight years. According to Fangraphs, which created a tool to convert WAR to dollars in order to estimate the value of a player, Holliday has been worth $168.6 million since 2010. He was active in the community with many charity appearances.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals activate Matt Holliday, refuse his $17 mil. 2017 option
He will turn 37 in mid-January 2017, after playing 13 major league seasons, the first five with the Colorado Rockies, and first half of 2009 with the Oakland Athletics until traded on July 24 to the Cardinals. After what could be his final at-bat with the Cardinals at home on September 30, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he hit his first ever pinch-hit home run, his 20th of the season, giving him 61 RBIs for the season, in his 980th game with the Cardinals that included six 20-homer seasons. With his 20th home run, Holliday became the sixth Cardinals' player to reach that mark, tying the NL record held by the 1965 Milwaukee Braves, and later 2003 Atlanta Braves. The homer also extended the team's pinch-hit home run major league record, now 17.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals activate Matt Holliday, refuse his $17 mil. 2017 option
He singled in a crucial second run in the 4–3 come-from-behind win over the Pirates, in his second consecutive pinch-hit appearance, October 1, giving him 62 RBIs for the season. His 2016 statistics now show for 109 games played in 382 at-bats: .246/.322/.461 with a .782 OPS, with 48 runs, 94 hits (including 20 doubles, 1 triple), 35 walks, 71 strikeouts, 8 hit-by-pitches, and 9 ground-into-double plays, with a 107 OPS+. For his eight years with the Cardinals, he hit .293/.380/.494 with an .874 OPS, and 138 OPS+ in 981 games and 3,581 at-bats. He gave a brief appearance in left field in the team's 162nd game, for 110 games in 2016, and 982 games as a Cardinals' player. The team has not completely ruled out a new contract in 2017 with him, although neither side expects it to happen.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season summary, September, Cardinals attendance
The attendance (38–43 .469) was 3,444,490 down 2.2% from the 3,520,889 in 2015. Their attendance is second in the 15-team NL only to the Los Angeles Dodgers that has over four times the St. Louis metro population and a stadium that has a capacity of 56,000, over 13,000 more than Busch Stadium. Away, the club was 48–33 (.593), among the best in MLB. Scored 779 runs, giving up 712, +67. In 2015, scored 647, allowed 525, +122. Home record was the worst for the team since 1997, at 41–40 (.506). Before that, the 1990 Cardinals were 34–47 (.420).


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Schedule and results
Regular Season Schedule (calendar style) Regular Season Schedule (sortable text)


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Statistics, Batting statistics
Below double line: Ranked by AB regardless of position for position players / Role, then IP for pitchers


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Statistics, Pitching statistics
Below double line: Ranked by AB regardless of position for position players / Role, then IP for pitchers


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Overview
After testing positive for marijuana, Major League Baseball suspended pitching prospect Alex Reyes on November 9, 2015, for 50 games including the remainder of his Arizona Fall League (AFL) play and start of the 2016 season. A total of eight players were selected from the Cardinals system in the rule 5 draft on December 10: Luis Perdomo (RHP to Colorado), Fernando Baez (RHP to Tampa Bay), Juan Caballero (RHP to Miami), Cory Jones (RHP to Baltimore), Mike O'Neill (OF to Cubs), Jhonny Polanco (RHP to Boston), Robelys Reyes (SS to Arizona) and Kender Villegas (RHP to Milwaukee). The Cardinals selected Matthew Bowman, a right-handed pitcher, from the New York Mets.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Overview
Entering the 2016 season, MLB.com ranked Reyes as the tenth-best prospect in all the minor leagues, and Baseball Prospectus at number 13. The Cardnials sold Carlos Peguero's contract to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) on July 8. In their updated prospect rankings, Baseball America placed Reyes second of all prospects in baseball in their July 8 update. Also making the top 100 were Luke Weaver (75), Jack Flaherty (88), and Harrison Bader (89).


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Overview
In 2016, the Cardinals signed three Cuban players as free agents: outfielders Randy Arozarena  ($1.25 million on July 27) and Jonatan Machado, and right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
The draft was held on June 9–11, 2016, at Secaucus, New Jersey. Day one of the MLB Draft included the first 77 overall selections. The Cardinals, in addition to their trio of first-round picks, will also make the 70th overall selection that day. Because they posted MLB's best record in 2015, the Cardinals receive the last pick in each subsequent round. Rounds 3–10 will be held on June 10, followed by rounds 11–40 a day later. The Cardinals have not yet announced who they will send to Secaucus to serve as their on-site representative for the event's first day.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
Because Heyward and Lackey both received qualifying offers and signed with the Chicago Cubs as free agents prior to the 2016 season, the Cardinals were allotted a total of three selections within the first 40 picks.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
Former Cardinals' relief pitcher Randy Flores (2004–08) is in his first year as scouting director for any team, and is the fourth scouting director for the club since 2011. Instead of an analytical background as were his three predecessors, he brings a unique perspective as a former player.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
The organization has been assigned a pool of $9.1433 million to use when signing players taken in the first 10 rounds. In addition, any bonus greater than $100,000 for a player taken after the 10th round will apply toward the bonus-pool total. Any team going up to 5 percent over its allotted pool will be taxed at a 75 percent rate on the overage. Overspending beyond 5 percent would cost the team future Draft picks, which the Cardinals are not expected to do. The signing deadline is July 15.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
According to one MLB.com columnist, the Cardinals had the second-best draft of the 30 teams, with only the first-pick team in all rounds, Philadelphia Phillies, getting more raw talent and expected signable draftees.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
With their 42 picks, the Cardinals drafted 16 RHP's, 10 outfielders, 4 LHP's, 3 SS's, 3 C's, 3 2B-men, 2 3B-men, and 1 1B-man.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
Their first-round (compensatory A round) pick, Dylan Carlson rescinded his college commitment to California State University-Fullerton on June 14, and agreed to a signing bonus of $1.35 mil., which is $550,500 under the slot value for the 33rd draft pick.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
Three more draft picks came to terms on June 16, including fifth-rounder Walker Robbins, who signed for $134,400 over the $315,600 slot value. Three undrafted free agents were also added.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
The Cardinals signed their No. 1 draft pick, Delvin Perez, 17, on June 17, for the full slot value of $2,222,500. He is 6' 2", 180 lbs.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
On June 18, the team announced the signing of their last remaining unsigned first-round pick, RHP Dakota Hudson. He signed for $2 mil., which was $122,000 over the slot value.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
As of June 23, the Cardinals have signed 32 of their 42 draft picks including all of rounds one-to-10, with 10 unsigned.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
With the signing of 2B-man J.R. Davis on July 2, the Cardinals have signed 33 draft picks, leaving nine unsigned.


2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, Minor league system and first-year player draft, Major League Baseball draft
2B-man Jonathan Murders signed on July 11, giving the team 34 signed of 42 draft picks, leaving eight unsigned.


2016 St. Petersburg Bowl
The 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played on December 26, 2016 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The ninth edition of the St. Petersburg Bowl featured the Miami Redhawks from the Mid-American Conference against the Mississippi State Bulldogs from the Southeastern Conference.


2016 St. Petersburg Bowl, Team selections
On December 4, 2016, it was announced that the game would feature the Miami Redhawks against the Mississippi State Bulldogs after both accepted invitations Sunday, marking the first time each team would meet.


2016 St. Petersburg Bowl, Team selections, Miami (OH)
After finishing their regular season with a 6–6 record, the Miami Redhawks appeared in their eleventh bowl game, and the first since the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl game against Middle Tennessee. Miami opened the year with a six-game losing streak, and then finished with a six-game winning streak making them the first team to finish a regular season after they lost the first six consecutive games.


2016 St. Petersburg Bowl, Team selections, Mississippi State
After finishing their regular season with a 5–7 record, Mississippi State appeared in their seventh straight bowl game. Mississippi State opened the year with 2 wins and 2 losses, losing to South Alabama and Louisiana State and winning against South Carolina and Massachusetts. Mississippi State then lost 3 consecutive games against Auburn, Brigham Young, and Kentucky before winning 2 games against Samford and Texas A&M. Lastly losing to Alabama and Arkansas before winning against Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl.


2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy
The 2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. This was the seventh edition of the tournament and the first as a WTA Premier tournament. It was part of the 2016 WTA Tour and was held between 8 February and 14 February 2016.


2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy, Prize money
1Qualifiers prize money is also the Round of 32 prize money. *per team


2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pair received a wildcard into the doubles main draw:


2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy – Doubles
Viktorija Golubic and Aliaksandra Sasnovich were the defending champions, but chose not to participate this year. Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza won the title, defeating Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejčíková in the final, 6–3, 6–1.


2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy – Singles
Jeļena Ostapenko was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Yanina Wickmayer.


2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy – Singles
Second-seeded Roberta Vinci won the title, defeating Belinda Bencic in the final, 6–4, 6–3.


2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy – Singles
Both finalists entered the Top 10 of WTA Rankings for the first time at the conclusion of the tournament.


2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2016 St. Petersburg Open
The 2016 St. Petersburg Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 21st edition of the St. Petersburg Open, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2016 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Sibur Arena in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from September 19 through 25, 2016.


2016 St. Petersburg Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2016 St. Petersburg Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2016 St. Petersburg Open – Doubles
Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen were the defending champions, but Huey chose not to participate this year. Kontinen played alongside Dominic Inglot and successfully defended the title, defeating Andre Begemann and Leander Paes in the final, 4–6, 6–3, [12–10].


2016 St. Petersburg Open – Singles
Milos Raonic was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Mikhail Youzhny.


2016 St. Petersburg Open – Singles
Alexander Zverev won his first ATP title, defeating Stan Wawrinka in the final, 6–2, 3–6, 7–5.


2016 St. Petersburg Open – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2016 Stabæk Fotball season
The 2016 season is Stabæk's third season back in the Tippeligaen following their relegation in 2012, their 20th season in the top flight of Norwegian football. Stabæk finished the previous season in third place, qualifying for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round.


2016 Stabæk Fotball season, Season Events
Billy McKinlay resigned as manager on 8 July 2016, after being knocked out of the UEFA Europa League by Connah's Quay Nomads.


2016 Stabæk Fotball season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Stabæk Fotball season, Squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Stabæk Fotball season, Squad, Out on loan
For season transfers, see List of Norwegian football transfers winter 2014–15 and List of Norwegian football transfers summer 2015.


2016 Stabæk Fotball season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Stabæk Fotball season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Stabæk Fotball season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Stabæk Fotball season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season
The 2016 Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks presented by Traxxas season was the fourth season of the Stadium Super Trucks series. After two seasons as Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, the name was quietly phased out in series branding by 2016.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season
2015 champion Sheldon Creed defended his title when he recorded twelve wins. Matthew Brabham finished second in the championship with 570 points, a 75-point differential between him and Creed, while Robby Gordon took third.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
The 2016 season began at Adelaide Street Circuit. Indianapolis 500 driver Matthew Brabham, who ran the SST round at Toronto in 2015, returned to the series for Adelaide, while local driver Travis Milburn made his SST debut in the race weekend; other Australians in the field included Paul Morris, Rob Cowie, Matt Mingay, Greg Gartner, and 2016 Dakar Rally winner Toby Price. Defending champion Sheldon Creed started eleventh in the twelve-driver grid but drove his way through the field. In front, Price led the race until lap six, when he collided into the wall.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
Morris inherited the lead and dueled with Creed for the position. As the two entered the final ramps, Morris went sideways and missed the second jump, enabling Creed to take the win. On the first lap of the second race, Mingay rolled his truck as he entered turn fourteen. Mingay nearly landed on Burt Jenner, but he was able to avoid Mingay's truck. Jenner battled with Price for much of the race before passing him on lap six, holding off Gordon to win. Mingay's struggles continued in the third race when he was spun by Price on lap three as he entered the ramp. Creed won the round.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
The series returned to the United States with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the third consecutive season that the trucks raced at the street course. Traxxas drivers swept the weekend's two races with Creed winning the first and Keegan Kincaid the second; Tyler McQuarrie joined the two on the podium in both races. Dustin Scott ran his first SST race at St. Petersburg, finishing sixth in his debut round.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
Creed swept the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach's two races. On the final lap of the second race, Pat O'Keefe landed off a jump erratically, causing his truck to slide over the second ramp before hitting the catchfence dividing the track from pit road. The wreck ended the race as Creed was declared the winner. Dubai 24 Hour driver Khaled Al Mudhaf made his SST debut over the weekend, finishing tenth and eighth.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
At the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, series veteran Arie Luyendyk Jr. made his season debut. Brabham recorded a weekend sweep as he won the two official races. The slate originally featured three races, but the second round saw Mingay's truck flip on lap three, prompting a red flag and suspending the race. Mingay was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital for facial injuries, and was eventually placed under a coma for five days as he underwent jaw and brain surgeries. Mingay returned to Australia after he recovered, but lost three weeks' worth of memories. Officially, Race 2 is not included in the series' records.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
In support of the injured Mingay, Gordon drove his No. 2 Hot Wheels truck when the series raced in the Castrol Edge Townsville 400 for the first time. Creed, Gordon, and Viso won the three races, with Viso taking his first win of 2016; Creed, who finished second and fourth in the other two rounds, scored the weekend victory. Despite his Race 2 win, Gordon finished at the back in Races 1 and 3 due to mechanical issues.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
At Honda Indy Toronto, 17-time motocross champion Sara Price made her series debut, becoming the first female driver in SST history. Also debuting in the series at Toronto was Champ Car and NASCAR driver Max Papis, while 2003 CART champion Paul Tracy, who last ran an SST race in 2014, returned to the series. Traxxas teammates Brabham and Creed battled one another for the weekend's two wins, with the former winning Race 1 and the latter Race 2.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
In August, SST partnered with TORC: The Off Road Championship to race the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway; it was the series' first dirt track racing event since Valvoline Raceway in 2015. To accommodate the stadium trucks, track officials added a 36-inch tall aluminum ramp to the start/finish line. NASCAR drivers Kenny Wallace and Brian Ickler made their series debuts, though Wallace was replaced by TORC driver Jessie Johnson for Race 2 as Wallace had television obligations with the NASCAR Cup Series; Johnson, who finished third, ran his first SST race since 2013. Creed won both rounds.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
Entering the series' Sand Sports Super Show weekend, tragedy took place when Gordon's parents were found dead in their nearby Orange, California home; in a statement released the next day, Gordon announced the race weekend would go on as planned, but added that "to switch from what happened to a business mode really stinks." Heat races were held before the two finals, with SST newcomer Troy Diede starting on the pole as a result. In the first race, Brabham took the lead at the start, while Gordon moved his way up from the back of the field.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
Late in the race, Gordon took the Joker Lap to get past Brabham and claim the win. P. J. Jones, who was substituting for O'Keefe in the Safecraft Safety Equipment truck, was able to pass Brabham to take second. With six laps left in the race, Morris flipped his truck but was able to finish sixth. Creed, who finished eighth in Race 1 after breaking an axle, dominated the second with Brabham tailing.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
On October 13–16, the series went to Baja California to run the inaugural Mike's Peak Hill Climb Challenge, held at Mike's Sky Rancho. The hillclimbing event featured 144 competitors across various vehicle classes including SST. Held on a 19.5-mile (31.4 km) course with 203 turns, water crossings and cattle grids, it marked the first time a stadium truck raced on such a track. Gordon dedicated the hillclimb to his late father Bob Gordon; he remarked "if I would have stopped this event, he would have been mad at me."


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
Including Gordon and Creed, the field of competitors featured a variety of drivers like an eleven-year old racer with his father serving as co-driver, and 2015 Baja 500 winner Apdaly Lopez, who won the SST gold medal at X Games Austin 2014 and entered the hillclimb in an unlimited truck. Red Bull off-road racer Bryce Menzies was also an entrant but did not compete due to injury; in his place, he challenged the SST drivers to beat his time of 14:20. On Friday, Gordon recorded the fastest time of the 16-driver field with a time of 17:08, followed by Creed with 17:29. Gordon once again led the grid on Saturday with a time of 16:51, a 22-second advantage over second-placed Creed.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
The season came to a close with the Castrol Gold Coast 600 at Surfers Paradise Street Circuit. In practice for Friday's race, teammates Morris and Price collided as they entered a turn, causing the two to roll over as they went into the barrier. Race 1 saw multiple wrecks, including Craig Dontas taking out the chicane barriers that forced the competition caution to be expedited to facilitate repairs, with Brabham also landing on Jones' truck as they raced to the finish for second; Creed won by 12.182 seconds, one of the widest margins in SST history. Gordon, returning to the No. 2 truck, won Race 2 while Creed held off Brabham for Race 3. Gold Coast would not return to the schedule until 2019 when it also served as that year's finale.


2016 Stadium Super Trucks season, Season summary
Creed concluded 2016 with a series-high twelve wins, quadruple that of the second-most (three apiece by Gordon and Brabham). With 645 total points, he scored his second SST championship ahead of Brabham's 570.


2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season
The 2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season begins at the Chennai Open, where he won the fourth title and the third in a row at Chennai.


2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season, Year summary, Australian Open and early hard court season, Chennai
Wawrinka started his 2016 tennis campaign by playing at the 2016 Aircel Chennai Open, where he was bidding for his third straight title win in a row. Wawrinka won against Andrey Rublev, Guillermo García-López and Benoît Paire in straight sets, before facing Borna Ćorić in the final. At the final, he won the match in straight sets 6-3 7-5, winning him also his fourth Chennai title in his career, and his twelfth career title overall.


2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season, Year summary, Australian Open and early hard court season, Australian Open
After winning the title in Chennai, Wawrinka participated in the first Grand Slam of the season in the 2016 Australian Open. He first faced Dmitry Tursunov who is participating on his first Grand Slam after more than a year of being absent on the tour due to injury. Wawrinka won the first two sets before Tursunov retired from the match. Wawrinka then faced Radek Štěpánek in the second round, where he was able to defeat the Czech in straight sets. He then faced another Czech in Lukáš Rosol in the third round, where Wawrinka defeated him also in straight sets.


2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season, Year summary, Australian Open and early hard court season, Australian Open
At the fourth round, he faced Canadian Milos Raonic in the fourth round. Raonic was able to win the first two sets against Wawrinka, but Wawrinka was able to push the match into a decider. Wawrinka was not able to fully come back however, as Raonic was able to win the deciding set 6-3. The loss stops the streak of six straight Grand Slam quarterfinals that started during the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.


2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season, Year summary, Indoor hard-court tournaments
Wawrinka did not appear in Rotterdam to defend his title.


2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season, Year summary, Indoor hard-court tournaments, Marseille
Wawrinka after receiving a first round bye would get revenge on Sergiy Stakhovsky in a tight three set match, who defeated him in the quarterfinals the previous year, but he would go on to lose to good friend Benoît Paire in the next round in three sets.


2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season, Year summary, Indoor hard-court tournaments, Dubai
After being two points from defeat in his opening round match against Stakhovsky, Wawrinka proceeded to defeat qualifier Franko Skugor, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Nick Kyrgios (in their first match since the Montreal incident in 2015) in succession, before defeating Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets to win the Dubai Duty Free title.


2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season, All matches
This table chronicles all the matches of Stan Wawrinka in 2016, including walkovers (W/O) which the ATP does not count as wins. They are marked ND for non-decision or no decision.


2016 Stan Wawrinka tennis season, Yearly records, Head-to-head matchups
Stan Wawrinka had a 46–18 (71.9% of wins) match win-loss record in the 2016 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP Rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings was 3–5 (37.5% of wins). The following list is ordered by number of wins:


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery
The 2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery was a bank robbery that took place in Singapore on 7 July 2016. Bank robberies are rare in Singapore, with the last successful robbery occurring in 2004. A total of S$30,045 was robbed, and the perpetrator, David James Roach, fled Singapore on the same day to Bangkok, Thailand. Roach was subsequently jailed in Thailand on money laundering charges, before being deported back to Canada in 2018. During the deportation process, he was arrested at Heathrow Airport, London and was then extradited to Singapore in 2020 for bank robbery and removing criminal proceeds from Singapore.


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery
The extradition carried a promise to the British government of not meting out corporal punishment on Roach when found guilty. Roach was sentenced to five years' jail and six strokes of cane on 7 July 2021. The caning was subsequently remitted through the exercise of President's clemency powers, thus fulfilling the promise to the British government.


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery, Perpetrator
Australian-born Canadian citizen David James Roach had been backpacking since 2015 before arriving in Singapore on 29 June 2016. He was aged 26 then. Roach had studied engineering in Calgary.


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery, Robbery, Planning phase
After arriving in Singapore, Roach planned to rob a bank from 5 July onwards. He made several reconnaissance trips to the targeted bank, a Standard Chartered bank branch located at Holland Village, Singapore, casing the bank and its surrounding environment. He had also bought new clothes, among them a sweater, to be used during the robbery, and disposed of immediately thereafter. The day before he committed the robbery, Roach stayed in three different hostels in Chinatown.


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery, Robbery, Robbery
On the morning of 7 July 2016, Roach entered the bank. He approached a pregnant bank teller with a note which read, "This is a robbery, I have a weapon, give me money, don't call the police." Believing that he had a weapon, Roach received S$30,450 from the teller and fled the scene on foot. The police, upon receiving an alert from the bank, combed the area for a Caucasian suspect, but he was nowhere to be found.


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery, Robbery, Escape
Roach changed out of his clothes upon exiting from the bank, and boarded a taxi several minutes later. The taxi brought him back to his hostel where he collected his personal belongings and left for Changi Airport. He bought an AirAsia flight ticket to Bangkok and left Singapore at 2:40 p.m. on the same day.


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery, Aftermath, Roach's arrest and imprisonment in Thailand
Roach was caught on 9 July 2016 in his hostel in Bangkok, after Singapore authorities had alerted their Thai counterparts. As Singapore had issued a warrant of arrest for Roach, Thailand cancelled his rights to stay in the country, and detained him for seven days in an immigration detention centre. The Singapore authorities requested for Roach to be repatriated back to Singapore, but the request fell through as Singapore and Thailand had no treaty to allow such extraditions.


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery, Aftermath, Roach's arrest and imprisonment in Thailand
At the same time, Canadian authorities wanted to extradite Roach back to Canada, given that Thailand and Canada had an existing extradition treaty. Instead, Thai authorities decided to charge and sentence Roach for violating currency regulations and money laundering. Roach, who had failed to declare that he possessed more than US$20,000 in assets upon arriving in Thailand, was initially sentenced to 2 years and 4 months of jail, but it was halved to 14 months after he confessed to the money laundering charges. The money, S$30,450 (2016) (US$22,041.26), was seized by Thailand as well.


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery, Aftermath, Extradition from United Kingdom
Upon release from Thai prison, Roach was deported back to Canada and was placed on a multi-legged flight. While on a stopover at Heathrow Airport, London, he was arrested by British authorities on 11 January 2018 as Singapore had an active arrest warrant on him. Singapore requested for him to be extradited, which Roach challenged. A UK judge ruled that the extradition request could be fulfilled under UK laws on 29 August 2018. This came after Singapore gave assurance that Roach would not be caned if sentenced in Singapore. In October 2018, a UK Secretary of State approved the extradition. Roach further appealed against the judgement, but failed to secured a favourable outcome in February 2020. Roach was extradited to Singapore on 16 March 2020.


2016 Standard Chartered bank robbery, Aftermath, Charging and sentencing of Roach
On 17 March 2020, Roach was charged with a charge of robbing a bank and a charge of removing criminal proceeds out of Singapore. Roach was assessed by two psychiatrists to have major depressive disorder, and it was a "contributory factor" in committing the robbery. On 7 July 2021, he was sentenced to five years' jail and six strokes of the cane, after pleading guilty to the two charges. The jail time was backdated to when he was first remanded in March 2020. No restitutions was made by Roach. President of Singapore Halimah Yacob granted Roach clemency and remitted his caning sentence, thus fulfilling the promise made to the British government; no alternative punishment was given to Roach in lieu of caning.


2016 Stanford Cardinal football team
The 2016 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by sixth-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 6–3 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place in the North Division. They were invited to the Sun Bowl where they defeated North Carolina.


2016 Stanford Cardinal football team, Previous season
In 2015, the Cardinal were the champions of the Pac-12 for the third time in four years, defeating Iowa 45–16 in the Rose Bowl.


2016 Stanford Cardinal football team, Previous season
Stanford finished the season ranked #3 in the final Coaches Poll, their highest final ranking in the history of that poll. They were similarly ranked #3 in the final AP Poll, their highest final ranking in 75 years, following the 1940 national championship season.


2016 Stanford Cardinal men's soccer team
The 2016 Stanford Cardinal men's soccer team represented Stanford University during the 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 43rd season of the university fielding a program.


2016 Stanford Cardinal men's soccer team
The Cardinal entered the season as the defending national champions. The Cardinal successfully defended their title in the 2016 NCAA Tournament against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.


2016 Stanford Cardinal men's soccer team, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2016 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2015–16 season, and the culmination of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Western Conference champion San Jose Sharks four games to two to win their fourth championship in franchise history. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals
The Penguins finished ahead of the Sharks during the regular season, giving them home ice advantage in the series. The series began on May 30 and concluded on June 12. This was the first Finals since 2007 to feature a team making their Finals debut. This was the first playoff meeting between teams from Pittsburgh and the Bay Area since the Penguins swept the Oakland Seals in the 1970 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals
The Eastern Conference had home-ice advantage in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2004 and 2006 Finals. This was the first Finals since 2011 to be won by a team other than the Chicago Blackhawks or the Los Angeles Kings.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals
For the first time since 2006, a new scheduling format was instituted for the Finals. In previous years, the Finals were played on a Wednesday–Saturday-Monday scheme (with a few games being played on Friday). However, the league changed its scheduling to ensure an extra day off for both teams. The extra off day, along with the designated travel day, would take place after games 2, 4, 5, and 6 in subsequent finals. This scheduling change was necessary as a result of the NBA instituting a new scheduling format for its championship series that went into effect beginning in 2016.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals, Pittsburgh Penguins
This was Pittsburgh's fifth Finals appearance, and first since winning the Cup in 2009. The Penguins had made the playoffs every year since their win in 2009, but hadn't won a single game in the conference finals in that span.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals, Pittsburgh Penguins
After losing to the Rangers in the playoffs for the second consecutive year, the Penguins made waves during the 2015 offseason, trading for forwards Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino, re-signing defenceman Olli Maatta and forward Bryan Rust, and signing centres Matt Cullen and Eric Fehr in free agency. General manager Jim Rutherford fired head coach Mike Johnston on December 12, 2015, after the team limped to a 15–10–3 start. Johnston was replaced with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who went 33–16–5 over the remainder of the season.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals, Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins made three major trades before the trade deadline, acquiring defencemen Trevor Daley and Justin Schultz and forward Carl Hagelin. After goalie Marc-Andre Fleury suffered a concussion on April 2, the team turned to rookie Matt Murray for the final week of the regular season and the majority of the playoffs.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh finished with 104 points (48–26–8) in the regular season to finish second in the Metropolitan Division. Centre and team captain Sidney Crosby led the club in scoring during the regular season and finished third in the league with 85 points.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals, Pittsburgh Penguins
In the playoffs, the Penguins eliminated the New York Rangers in five games after losing to them in 2014 and 2015, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in six games, and the defending conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals, San Jose Sharks
This was San Jose's first Finals appearance in their 25-year history.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals, San Jose Sharks
During the offseason the Sharks hired former New Jersey Devils head coach Peter DeBoer to replace Todd McLellan and traded for former Kings backup goalie Martin Jones. San Jose also picked up defenceman Paul Martin and right wingers Joel Ward and Dainius Zubrus via free agency. Before the trade deadline, the Sharks acquired forward Nick Spaling, defenceman Roman Polak, and goalie James Reimer.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals, San Jose Sharks
San Jose earned 98 points (46–30–6) to finish third in the Pacific Division. Centre Joe Thornton led the club in scoring with 82 points, and finished tied for fourth in the league, followed closely by centre and team captain Joe Pavelski with 78 points and defenceman Brent Burns with 75 points.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals, San Jose Sharks
In the playoffs, San Jose avenged their 2014 loss to the Kings, a series in which they blew a 3–0 series lead, by defeating Los Angeles in five games. San Jose also eliminated the Nashville Predators in seven games, winning every home game in the series, and the St. Louis Blues in the Conference Final in six games.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries
Number in parentheses represents the player's total goals or assists to that point of the entire four rounds of the playoffs


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game one
Game one remained scoreless until Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary scored a minute apart for the Penguins midway through the first period. San Jose came back in the second period with a power play goal by Tomas Hertl at 3:02 and the tying goal by Patrick Marleau at 18:12. Despite 18 third-period Pittsburgh shots directed towards Martin Jones, the score remained tied at two until very late in the game, when Kris Letang found Nick Bonino wide open in front of the net to give the Penguins the lead. The Penguins held off the Sharks in the final minutes to take game one 3–2.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game two
Game 2 began with a scoreless first period which featured 11 Penguins shots and only six from the Sharks. Midway through the second period, a series of San Jose miscues led to a Pittsburgh goal. After Roman Polak nearly gave the puck away to Phil Kessel, Brenden Dillon was stripped by Carl Hagelin, who gave it to Nick Bonino for a tip-in by Kessel. The Sharks tied the game late in the third on a goal by Justin Braun, which sent the game into overtime. Early in overtime, a quick shot by Conor Sheary beat Martin Jones to give the Penguins a 2–1 win and 2–0 series lead.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game three
Ben Lovejoy started off the scoring in game three at 5:29 of the first period, when his point shot deflected in off Roman Polak. The Sharks tied it at 9:34 on a Justin Braun goal. Midway through the second period, the Penguins took the lead back when Patric Hornqvist tipped in another Lovejoy point shot. In the third period, Nick Bonino high-sticked Joe Thornton, and in the dying seconds of the four-minute power play, Joel Ward fired a slap shot past Matt Murray to tie the game. In overtime, Joonas Donskoi roofed a tough-angle shot over Murray's shoulder for the game winner.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game four
At 7:36 of the first period, Phil Kessel took advantage of a poor Sharks line change and fired a shot that rebounded off Martin Jones and directly to Ian Cole, who scored his first playoff goal. This marked the seventh consecutive game in which the Penguins had scored first. In the second period, Sharks forward Melker Karlsson was called for interference against Eric Fehr, and on the ensuing power play, Evgeni Malkin tipped in a Kessel shot for the Penguins' second goal. During the third period, Karlsson scored again to cut the deficit to one, but the Penguins regained a two-goal lead with 2:02 left when Eric Fehr beat Jones on a breakaway.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game five
Game five started quickly, with four goals scored in the first 5:06 of the game. Brent Burns gave the Sharks their first lead of the Final at 1:04, slipping it past Murray on the right post. San Jose scored again at 2:53, when Logan Couture deflected in a shot from Justin Braun. Less than two minutes later, Sharks forward Dainius Zubrus got called for delay of game after shooting the puck over the glass. On the ensuing power play, a Malkin shot deflected off Braun's skate and past Jones, cutting the deficit to 2–1.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game five
Less than a minute later, Brenden Dillon gave away the puck to Nick Bonino, who took a shot that was deflected in by Carl Hagelin. Later in the first period, during a Pittsburgh power play, a Phil Kessel wrist shot bounced off both posts but stayed out. Later in the period, Dillon passed down low for Couture who sauced a backhand pass to Karlsson, who scored to regain the lead for the Sharks. San Jose took just 15 shots in the second and third period combined, but Jones withstood a massive 46 shots from the Penguins to stave off elimination. Joe Pavelski provided an empty-net goal to force a sixth game.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game six
A power play drive from Brian Dumoulin started the scoring early in game six. During the first intermission, a tribute to Gordie Howe was played, as he died on June 10. San Jose tied it up in the second period when Logan Couture took a pass from Melker Karlsson and fired a shot past Murray. Just over a minute later, Pittsburgh regained the lead when a shot by Kris Letang ricocheted off Martin Jones and in. Despite facing elimination on home ice, the Sharks managed only two shots on goal in the third period, and an empty-net goal from Patric Hornqvist sealed the win for Pittsburgh. The Penguins won the fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history, clinching all four on the road.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The 2016 Stanley Cup was presented to Penguins captain Sidney Crosby by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Penguins' 3–1 win over the Sharks in game six.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The following Penguins players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving, Engraving notes
Pittsburgh broke the 1938 Chicago Black Hawks' record of eight with ten U.S.-born players on a Stanley Cup winning team: Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Matt Cullen, Brian Dumoulin, Phil Kessel, Ben Lovejoy, Kevin Porter, Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary, and Jeff Zatkoff. An 11th American, Beau Bennett was not included on the cup.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving, Engraving notes
Gilles Meloche was the goaltending coach for Pittsburgh's Cup wins in 1991, 1992, and 2009. His role was changed to Special Assignment Scout, so his name was left off the Stanley Cup in 2016. However, he was awarded his fourth Stanley Cup ring. Other scouts left off the Cup but got rings were pro scouts Al Santili and Ryan Bowness, amateur scouts Colin Alexander, Scott Bell, Brain Fitzgerald, Luc Gauthier, Frank Golden, Jay Heinbuck, Wayne Meier, Ron Pyette, Casey Torres, and Warren Young, and European scouts Patrick Alivin, Petri Pakaslahi, and Tommy Westlund. Many other members of Pittsburgh's staff were also left off the Cup but still received championship rings.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Television and radio
In the U.S., the Final was split between NBC and NBCSN. NBCSN aired two games of the series while NBC aired the other five (if necessary). On May 27, NBC Sports announced that if the series was tied at 1-1 entering game three, then it would have aired on NBC and game four televised on NBCSN. However, if one team led 2–0 (as this eventually happened), game three moved to NBCSN and then game four on NBC. The games were broadcast nationally on radio via the NBC Sports Radio network.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Television and radio
In Canada, the series aired on CBC Television (through Hockey Night in Canada, as produced by Sportsnet through a brokerage agreement) in English, and TVA Sports in French.


2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Television and radio
Beginning with this series, the NHL revised the schedule of the Stanley Cup Finals. From 2006 to 2015, the Finals typically followed a Monday–Wednesday–Saturday format. However, the NHL decided to alter the format so as to give teams an extra day off upon traveling from one city to another. These two-day layovers took place after Games 2, 4, 5, and 6. The National Basketball Association's championship series followed a similar format beginning that year as well to avoid head-to-head competition against the NHL's Cup Finals.


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 13, 2016 and ended on June 12, 2016, with the Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the San Jose Sharks four games to two in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals.


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs
For only the second time in league history (1970 being the only other time), none of the NHL's Canadian-based teams, seven in total, qualified for the postseason. In addition, for the second season in a row and only the fifth time since joining the league in 1979, all four former WHA teams (the Edmonton Oilers, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche) missed the playoffs. The Washington Capitals made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season.


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs
This was the final season of the Detroit Red Wings' 25-season playoff appearance streak, the longest streak at the time and tied for third longest in NHL history. The Florida Panthers qualified for the playoffs for only the second time since the 1999–2000 season—both times winning their division—and fifth time in franchise history. For the fourth time in six years, all three California-based teams made the playoffs in the same season. And, for only the second time ever (1996 being the only other time), both Florida-based teams made the playoffs in the same season.


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs
For the first time since 2006, and only the third time in league history, all Original Six teams who made the playoffs (three in total) were eliminated in the first round. The New York Islanders won their first post-season series since the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, ending the third longest post-season win drought in NHL history. For the seventh consecutive season and eleventh out of thirteen seasons, a team from California was in the Western Conference Final.


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs
For the first time since 2002, no team lost in a four-game sweep in a playoff series.


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, Playoff seeds
This was the third year in which the top three teams in each division make the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference (for a total of eight playoff teams from each conference).


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, Playoff bracket
In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team was at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top three teams in each division made the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference, for a total of eight teams from each conference.


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, Playoff bracket
In the First Round, the lower seeded wild card in the conference played against the division winner with the best record while the other wild card played against the other division winner, and both wild cards were de facto #4 seeds. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. In the first two rounds, home ice advantage was awarded to the team with the better seed; in the last two rounds, it was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (A1) Florida Panthers vs. (WC1) New York Islanders
The Florida Panthers finished first in the Atlantic Division, earning 103 points. The New York Islanders finished as the Eastern Conference's first wild-card, earning 100 points. This was the first meeting between these two teams. Florida won two of the three games of the regular season series. This was the first time that a Stanley Cup playoff series was played at the Barclays Center. The series contained the two teams with the longest playoff win drought in the league (the Islanders had not won a series since 1993, and the Panthers since 1996). The team that both clubs defeated for their last respective playoff series victory were the Pittsburgh Penguins, of which Panthers' right winger Jaromir Jagr was a member.


2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (A1) Florida Panthers vs. (WC1) New York Islanders
The Islanders defeated the Panthers in six games and won a playoff series for the first time since 1993. John Tavares scored a goal and two assists for the Islanders in a 5–4 win in game one. In game two, Roberto Luongo recorded 41 saves in a 3–1 win to help the Panthers tie the series. The Islanders came back from a two-goal deficit in the second period to win game three in overtime on Thomas Hickey's wrist shot. In game four, Jaromir Jagr had an assist to reach 200 points overall in the playoffs.