Knizner went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Guardians.
Knizner went 4-for-11 (.364) with two extra-base hits over four games last week. He's still good for one or two starts a week as backup to Willson Contreras, but there's not a clear path to consistent at-bats for Knizner. For the season, he's slashing .231/.259/.449 with four homers, 11 RBI, 11 runs scored, a stolen base and five doubles over 92 plate appearances.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Picks up steal in win
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Knizner went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Reds.
Miles Mikolas and Luke Weaver traded zeroes for the bulk of seven innings, making for a low-event game. Knizner was the only Cardinal with multiple hits, his fourth such effort in May. He also logged a steal in the ninth inning, his first since 2019. Knizner had a run of playing time when Willson Contreras was moved to designated hitter earlier in the month, but Knizner's been on the bench for much of the last week. He's slashing .230/.260/.419 with three home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored over 78 plate appearances, and he's unlikely to see more than a backup role as long as Contreras remains healthy.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Hits grand slam Monday
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Knizner went 1-for-1 with a grand slam and two total runs in Monday's 18-1 rout of Milwaukee.
Knizner began the game on the bench, but he came in to pinch run for Paul Goldschmidt with St. Louis up by eight runs in the eighth inning. He came around to score when Nolan Gorman homered four pitches later, and Knizner then got a turn at the plate when St. Louis batted around to get back to Goldschmidt's original spot. Knizner delivered a grand slam off position player Mike Brosseau, putting the icing on a huge 10-run frame. It was the second straight game with a homer for Knizner, who went deep just once over his first 56 at-bats of the season. Though Knizner has been swinging a hot bat of late and recently completed a streak of nine consecutive starts, his playing time is expected to take a hit moving forward with the Cardinals having recommitted to Willson Contreras as their primary catcher.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Back to bench role
Rotowire
Knizner is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Brewers.
With Willson Contreras back behind the plate Monday for the first time since May 4, Knizner will retreat to the bench, ending a stretch of nine consecutive starts for the 28-year-old backstop. Despite Contreras' struggles with adapting to the St. Louis pitching staff in his first season with the team, the Cardinals have seemingly reaffirmed their commitment to him as their primary catcher. With that in mind, Knizner is expected to see his playing time take a big hit, even though he held his own defensively and at the plate (.281 average, six extra-base hits) during his nine-game starting run.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Homers in blowout win
Rotowire
Knizner went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 9-1 win over the Red Sox.
Knizner got a short run as the Cardinals' primary catcher over the last week, and he went 7-for-26 (.269) with a homer, four doubles, four RBI and five runs scored over the last seven games. Willson Contreras is expected to resume catching duties Monday, so Knizner's playing time is likely to drop off a bit again. The veteran backup has a .213/.238/.377 slash line with two homers, six RBI, eight runs scored and four doubles through 64 plate appearances this year.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Knocks two doubles in win
Rotowire
Knizner went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI in Sunday's 12-6 win over the Tigers.
Knizner posted his first multi-hit game of the year Sunday. He doubled home a run and scored in the sixth and then doubled and scored yet again in the eighth. The 28-year-old raised his slash line to .205/.244/.333 and has just one homer, three RBI, five runs and a 2:15 BB:K over 42 plate appearances this year.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Temporarily starting behind plate
Rotowire
Knizner will serve as the Cardinals' top catcher for the next few weeks while Willson Contreras spends time at designated hitter and in the outfield, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Contreras has looked good offensively, but the Cardinals are unhappy with his performance on the defensive side and aren't going to use him much, if at all, at catcher for the near future. That opens up considerably more playing time for Knizner, though he's unlikely to do enough with it to have much fantasy value. In 197 career major-league games, he's hit .201/.287/.285 with eight homers.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Hits first homer
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Knizner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Tigers.
Knizner got the Cardinals on the board in the third inning with his solo shot, which was his first homer and fifth hit of the season. He's supplied his two RBI over his last two games, and he's also added three runs scored while hitting .156 across 35 plate appearances. With Willson Contreras getting most of the starts behind the dish, it's tough to see Knizner getting consistent playing time.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Will open as backup catcher
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Knizner will open the season as the Cardinals' backup catcher, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Knizner has gone just 4-for-42 (.095) through 14 games this spring in the Grapefruit League, but he still managed to fend off a challenge from Tres Barrera. It probably came down to experience in the end, as Knizner was the locked-in backup to Yadier Molina the last two years. He'll now fill the same role behind offseason addition Willson Contreras.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Not assured of backup job
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Cardinals manager Oli Marmol noted Tuesday that Knizner is not assured of the team's backup catcher role, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Knizner served as the primary understudy to Yadier Molina over the last two seasons, but he holds just a .204/.292/.288 career batting line in 553 plate appearances at the major-league level. Tres Barrera has impressed the Cardinals' coaches and pitchers this spring, per Denton, and might emerge as the No. 2 option behind Willson Contreras.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Reaches deal with St. Louis
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Knizner agreed to a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Cardinals on Friday to avoid arbitration, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Knizner appeared in a career-high 97 games last season and had a .215/.301/.300 slash line with four home runs and 25 RBI. He'll remain the No. 2 catcher despite the retirement of Yadier Molina after the Cardinals signed Willson Contreras in free agency.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Homers in second straight game
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Knizner went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss against the Brewers.
Knizner led off the seventh inning with a homer off righty reliever Matt Bush to cut the Cardinals' deficit to one. The catcher's last 14 games have been abysmal at the plate as he's recorded a .098 average and .268 slugging percentage over 41 at-bats. However after a recent 0-for-19 stretch , the 27-year-old has homered in back-to-back contests.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Goes deep in victory
Rotowire
Knizner went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's win over the Brewers.
Knizner connected for a two-run shot off Brent Suter in the top of the fourth frame, extending the Cardinals' lead to 4-0. The homer was his third of the season and first since Aug. 27. Since the beginning of September, Knizner has gone 2-for-36 with a home run, a double, two RBI and two runs scored while striking out 10 times.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Homers in Saturday's win
Rotowire
Knizner went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and a hit-by-pitch in Saturday's 6-5 win over Atlanta.
Knizner has hit safely in five straight games, going 7-for-16 (.438) with a homer, three RBI, eight runs scored and a pair of doubles in that short but productive stretch. He accounted for the Cardinals' first two runs in this contest. The catcher has alternated starts with Yadier Molina over the last six games, which suggests Knizner may be forcing his way into a timeshare. He has a .231/.329/.302 slash line with two homers, 22 RBI, 23 runs scored and eight doubles through 229 plate appearances this year.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Returns to No. 2 role
Rotowire
Knizner will return to the bench for Monday's game against the Cubs, Bally Sports Midwest reports.
With Yadier Molina (personal) coming off the restricted list Monday and stepping back in as the Cardinals' No. 1 catcher, Knizner's brief run atop the depth chart comes to an end. Knizner was behind the plate for both of the Cardinals' final two games of the weekend series in Arizona and went 3-for-7 with a double, two walks and four runs.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Scores thrice Saturday
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Knizner went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and three runs scored in Saturday's 16-7 win over the Diamondbacks.
Knizner got the start behind the dish Saturday as Yadier Molina (personal) is away from the team. In his last 10 games, Knizner has delivered four multi-hit efforts with two doubles, two RBI and seven runs scored. The backup catcher is up to a .219/.311/.273 slash line with one home run, 19 RBI, 18 runs scored and seven doubles through 213 plate appearances this year. Molina is expected to rejoin the Cardinals on Monday, so Knizner's time as the No. 1 backstop is likely limited.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Back in No. 2 role
Rotowire
Knizner is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cubs, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
With Yadier Molina (knee) back from the 10-day injured list and stepping into the lineup Tuesday, Knizner is expected to serve as St. Louis' No. 2 backstop moving forward. Knizner finally started to find a rhythm at the plate in July with a .280/.345/.320 slash line on the month, but he's still holding down a poor .575 OPS over 194 plate appearances on the season.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: On bench for series finale
Rotowire
Knizner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.
Knizner will get a much-needed breather after he started behind the plate in each of the past six games. Austin Romine will relieve Knizner of catching duties in the series finale, but both players are likely to settle into reserve roles as soon as Tuesday, when No. 1 backstop Yadier Molina (knee) is expected to be activated from the injured list.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Riding pine Friday
Rotowire
Knizner isn't starting Friday against the Reds, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Knizner drew starts in five of the last six games and went 7-for-15 with a double, five RBI and a run. Austin Romine is starting behind the plate and batting ninth.
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Cardinals' Andrew Knizner: Idle Sunday
Rotowire
Knizner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
He'll get a breather for the day game, paving the way for Austin Romine to get a turn behind the dish. Knizner appears to have re-established himself as St. Louis' top backstop in the absence of the injured Yadier Molina (knee) after going 7-for-15 with five RBI while starting at catcher in five of the Cardinals' previous six contests.
