Cardinals’ offense has been swarming opponents lately

12:10 AM ET

ST. LOUIS — One of the reasons nobody seems to know that the St. Louis Cardinals have had the second-most-prolific offense in the National League this season is that so much of their production has come from people no one has heard of.

Opposing teams usually get the message before the public, of course, since they have to figure out who those guys are to get them out.

His early-season success has vaulted Aledmys Diaz toward the top of the lineup, and so far, so good for the Cardinals. Scott Kane/Getty Images

On Thursday night, the Cardinals finally thrust their emerging young talent into the spotlight, if a bit bashfully. Manager Mike Matheny plucked Aledmys Diaz from the nether reaches of his lineup and put him where he profiles, in the No. 2 spot. He used one of his best pure hitters, Stephen Piscotty, at cleanup — a wormhole in the team’s lineup all season — and the results were immediate in a 13-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

One game doesn’t prove a thing, but everyone seemed to think it was a good look, and Matheny indicated he might give it another whirl or two, or at least he started to do so. He doesn’t like announcing the next day’s starting lineup the night before, but after the top four hitters in his lineup combined to go 8-for-18 with four doubles, a home run and nine RBIs, …

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