Diaz’s fixes help Cards stabilize defense

ANAHEIM — The Cardinals’ defense, so porous in April, has been much more stable of late, in large part due to improved performance at the shortstop position.

The Cardinals entered Wednesday still atop the Majors with 11 shortstop errors, at least five more than every other team. But only two of those have come this month, and Aledmys Diaz, in particular, has looked much more sure-handed.

After opening his big league career with five errors in 15 games, Diaz had one miscue in his next 15. He’s not just making the routine plays now, either. Diaz is piling up the web gems, his latest a sensational play in the hole to help Mike Leake out of first-inning trouble Tuesday in a game the Cardinals went on to win, 8-1, over the Angels.

“He’s shown that he has the ability to make some really good plays at short,” third baseman Matt Carpenter said of Diaz after the win. “It’s in there.”

One of the reasons the Cardinals planned to start Diaz in …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com