MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Cardinals this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

• Cardinals Stat of the Day, April 2021

May 31: Dodgers 9, Cardinals 4 -- Williams' power stroke
On an otherwise tough night for the Cardinals, Justin Williams provided a bright spot. The outfielder's sixth-inning homer off Trevor Bauer left the bat at 115 mph, making it the third-hardest hit by a Cardinal since exit velocity was first tracked by Statcast (since 2015). What's more, it was the second-hardest hit conceded by the reigning NL Cy Young winner to any batter in his career.

The Cardinals have known Williams can strike the ball like few others; the only issue has been his ability to make contact and do so. Monday's homer was just his second extra-base hit in May.

May 30: D-backs 9, Cardinals 2 -- Another bases-loaded walk
Cardinals reliever Tyler Webb issued a bases-loaded walk to Carson Kelly in the sixth inning, marking the 14th time this season that a St. Louis pitcher has walked in a run. No other team in MLB has issued more than nine bases-loaded walks.

May 29: Cardinals 7, D-backs 4 -- Waino, Yadi climb leaderboard
Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina made their 283rd start as batterymates, which moved the duo into a tie with Don Drysdale and John Roseboro for fourth in MLB history. Wainwright and Molina will next look to pass Red Faber and Ray Schalk, who rank third with 306 starts together.

May 28: Cardinals 8, D-backs 6 -- O'Neill's big blast
Tyler O'Neill's first-inning home run off Madison Bumgarner was his first homer off a left-handed pitcher since he went deep against Tyler Anderson on Aug. 26, 2018, at Coors Field. The home run was just the third that O'Neill has hit against a southpaw in his career.

March 27: Cardinals 5, D-backs 4 (10) -- Sosa a hit (by pitch)
With his hit by pitch in the fifth inning, Edmundo Sosa has been plunked eight times in 44 at-bats this season, making the 25-year-old rookie from Panama the National League leader in the category, just two behind the A's Mark Canha for most in the Majors. Victor Robles of the Nationals holds the modern-era (since 1900) rookie record with 25 in 2019.

May 26: Cardinals 4, White Sox 0 -- Tommy Two Bombas?
Tommy Edman has had a penchant for doubles over his career, earning the social media nickname Tommy Two Bags. But he provided a spin-off in the series finale. He laced the first two Cardinals hits of the game, both of which went for deep homers (430 feet-plus) that left the park in a hurry (110 mph-plus exit velocity). It was the second multihomer day of his career, after doing the same on Sept. 6, 2019. With a 112.5 mph exit velocity, the first homer was the hardest-hit ball of his career that landed for a hit.

May 25: White Sox 8, Cardinals 3 -- A night of errors
The Cardinals committed three errors against the White Sox, giving them consecutive games with multiple errors for the first time since May 7-8, 2019. Let's put some of those into perspective: Edmundo Sosa's error on the Cardinals' first defensive chance of the game was the first of his career, filling in for an ailing Paul DeJong. For Tommy Edman, his error -- a ball kicking off the heel of his glove -- was his first in right field this season, with just one at second base in 41 games. He's played every inning of St. Louis' season. And Nolan Arenado's error was his seventh in 48 games this season -- four more than he had in exactly as many games in 2020.

May 24: White Sox 5, Cardinals 1 -- Greetings, old friend
When Lance Lynn threw his first pitch to Tommy Edman, it marked the first game that White Sox skipper Tony La Russa embarked upon against his former Cardinals club after 5,270 games across four organizations. That's the highest amount of games managed -- postseason included -- without facing a particular franchise among all managers since 1900, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

In second is fellow Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox, who presided over 4,644 career games without ever facing the Braves, whom he managed for 25 seasons around four years spent with the Blue Jays.

May 23: Cubs 2, Cardinals 1 (10 innings) -- Waino adds to accolades
On top of making his 282nd start with Yadier Molina against the Cubs on Sunday, moving into a tie for fifth-most in MLB history, Adam Wainwright added another impressive mark to his resume -- still growing in year 16. At 39 years and 266 days old, the right-hander became the oldest pitcher in franchise history to go eight innings and allow one hit or fewer in a game

May 22: Cardinals 2, Cubs 1 -- Try touching the back of this 'pen
The Cardinals have long trusted that the back end of their bullpen can rival any in the Majors, believing multiple relievers could be closers on other teams. While some of their overall bullpen numbers are shaky -- the walks, specifically -- one nugget that inspires bursting confidence in their late-inning relievers is this: When taking a lead into the eighth inning, the Cardinals are 22-1 on the year, after Giovanny Gallegos and Alex Reyes locked down Yadier Molina's heroics on Saturday night.

May 21: Cubs 12, Cardinals 3 -- Free passes when you can't
Command has been a struggle of late for Cardinals pitchers, who issued 26 walks in the series last weekend in San Diego. They appeared on a more navigable course against the Pirates, but those issues reared their head against the Cubs once again on Friday. The Cards walked two batters with the bases loaded in the loss to Chicago. A mark that already led the Majors entering the series opener grew: St. Louis pitching has conceded 12 bases-loaded free passes. The single-season record for any club since 1973 is 17.

May 19: Cardinals 8, Pirates 5 -- Make some room, Gibby
Jack Flaherty's win over the Pirates was the stuff of legends. It improved him to 8-0 in his first nine starts of the season, with a 2.53 ERA along the way. In doing so, he became the second pitcher in Cardinals history to go 8-0 in his first nine starts of the season, joining Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, who did the same in 1965.

What's more, Flaherty is only the eighth pitcher in the Wild Card Era (since 1995) to hit that mark in as many games, joining Jake Arrieta (2016), Matt Moore (2013), Josh Beckett (2007), Jimmy Key (1997) and Roger Clemens (1997), as Chris Sale (2016) and Brandon Webb (2008) one-upped the group to go 9-0 in that span.

May 18: Cardinals 5, Pirates 2 -- Arenado's homer streak
Nolan Arenado's first-inning homer against the Pirates was not an abberation; he's the hottest hitter in the NL in the month of May, leading the league in numerous offensive categories. But what it did do is this: Arenado's fourth consecutive game with a homer made him the first Cardinals third baseman to do that since Scott Rolen, who hit five homers in a four-game stretch from Sept. 17-20, 2002.

May 16: Padres 5, Cardinals 3 -- A rarity for Kim
For a team struggling with free passes, the walk-averse Kwang Hyun Kim offered a chance for respite. But when it came to the series finale against the Padres, not even the steady left-hander could avoid the staff-wide ailment. Kim's three walks tied a career high (done three times prior), and his walk to Tommy Pham in the bottom of the fourth inning was the first he conceded to a right-hander since Sept. 24, 2020, when Milwaukee’s Avisaíl García drew a free pass. Three batters later, Kim did it again, walking San Diego’s Ha-Seong Kim.

May 15: Padres 13, Cardinals 3 -- One left for Yadi
When he homered in the fourth inning, Yadier Molina collected his first career homer at Petco Park. There’s only one current NL ballpark where Molina has yet to homer. Remarkably, it's Coors Field. St. Louis plays four games in Colorado from July 1-4.

May 14: Padres 5, Cardinals 4 -- It had to end sometime
Whenever Tommy Edman has crossed the plate, the Cardinals could almost rest easy, knowing a win would follow. Entering the series opener in San Diego, St. Louis was 17-0 in games in which Edman scored a run. But, in Edman’s hometown, that record fell to 17-1.

May 13: Cardinals 2, Brewers 0 -- Edman does it all
Tommy Edman did three things on Thursday. All of them have become almost expected for the Cardinals' most valued player. First, he played shortstop for the first time this season. It's just another position in the arsenal for a player who's played six in his career. Second, he got on base in the first inning and scored. It was the only time the Cards scored before the eighth inning in Milwaukee; St. Louis is now 17-0 in games in which Edman scores a run. And third, he drew a walk off Brewers starter Corbin Burnes. It was the first free pass by Burnes this season after 58 strikeouts -- an MLB record.

Or, another day at the office for Edman.

May 12: Brewers 4, Cardinals 1 -- Feller, meet John Gant
John Gant has made his name this season on his tightrope act, often loading the bases on his own doing but somehow escaping with little to no damage. Five-plus innings, one unearned run and three walks later in his seventh start, he placed himself next to an all-time great.

Gant's 1.83 ERA through his first seven starts of the season is tied with Hall of Famer Bob Feller for the 10th-lowest in that opening span in MLB history ... among those with at least 27 walks. Feller did so with 35 free passes through his first seven starts of the 1938 season, while Gant sits at 27.

May 11: Cardinals 6, Brewers 1 (11 innings) -- Kim's small-sample success
Kwang Hyun Kim hasn't been completely dominant against the Brewers, but the Cardinals' lefty has proven to be a solid foil against Milwaukee's lineup. Though he nearly took the loss in the series opener at American Family Field thanks to a slow start from his offense, Kim allowed just one run over 5 1/3 innings. He now sports a 1.04 ERA and has a 5-to-2 strikeouts-to-walks ratio in 17 1/3 career innings against the Brewers.

May 9: Cardinals 2, Rockies 0 -- Wainwright's 400th game
With his first pitch to Raimel Tapia at 1:17 p.m. CT, Adam Wainwright embarked upon the 400th game of his career (and his 333rd start), becoming the seventh Cardinals pitcher to reach that mark. The right-hander joined Hall of Famers Jesse Haines and Bob Gibson, as well as Bill Sherdel, Bob Forsch, Al Brazle and Jason Isringhausen.

May 8: Cardinals 9, Rockies 8: Dominance of Rox continues
The Cardinals have been dominant at home against the Rockies. Since the current iteration of Busch Stadium opened in 2006, St. Louis holds a .755 (40-13) home winning percentage over Colorado, its best home mark against any opponent in that stretch. With the win, the Cardinals have now beaten the Rockies in eight straight meetings at Busch and 14 of the past 15 dating back to May 18, 2016.

May 7: Cardinals 5, Rockies 0 -- Flaherty's first dinger
Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty helped his own cause against the Rockies by driving a shot 416 feet to left field for his first big league home run. According to Statcast, no other St. Louis pitcher since at least 2015 has hit a home run ball farther than Flaherty besides Miles Mikolas, who hit one 426 feet in Colorado on Aug. 24, 2018. It was also the first homer by a Cardinals pitcher since Tyson Ross took Clayton Kershaw deep on Sept. 13, 2018.

May 6: Mets 4, Cardinals 1 -- Gant walks tightrope
John Gant entered Thursday with the highest walk rate (16.5 percent) among all pitchers (minimum 20 innings pitched). By the time he left the Busch Stadium mound with one out in the fifth, a stark divide played out: Gant’s 2.15 ERA stood as 19th best in the Majors (also min. 20 innings); his 1.70 WHIP was fifth worst.

As of Gant’s last pitch on Thursday, not one other arm in the bottom 30 of WHIP had an ERA under 3.50, let alone under 2.50. It pays to have some luck.

May 5: Cardinals 4, Mets 1 (Game 1) -- DeJong bests Mets (again)
With his fifth-inning homer in Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader, Paul DeJong laced his 21st extra-base hit against the Mets in his young career ... in just his 22nd career game against them. No other player in MLB history has laced as many extra-base hits against New York through his first 22 games against the franchise. Next on the list? Albert Pujols at 18, and Rico Carty at 17.

May 3: Cardinals 6, Mets 5 -- Three-run blasts to the past
What's red, white and the first team to do something since the 2000 Giants? That'd be the 2021 Cardinals, who, after Nolan Arenado's game-tying three-run blast on Monday, became the first team since that San Francisco squad to rattle off a three-run homer in five consecutive games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. No Cardinals team had ever done it before. What's more, the first three in the streak dating back to Thursday -- two from Matt Carpenter and one by Justin Williams -- were of the pinch-hit variety. Had the Cardinals hit a pinch-hit homer in Saturday's win over the Pirates, they would have been the first team in the Modern Era to hit a pinch-hit homer in four consecutive games, also per Elias.

May 2: Cardinals 3, Pirates 0 -- Bader's bat heating up
How much can you make out of one home run? Well, for Harrison Bader, the Cardinals are hoping for a lot. The center fielder's three-run blast in the second inning against the Pirates came on a slider from right-hander Wil Crowe. It was Bader's first home run since returning from the injured list with right forearm soreness, his first homer since the 2020 regular-season finale and only the sixth of his career on a breaking pitch from a right-hander. The Cardinals would love to see Bader's batting splits even out, and Sunday's game was a great start.

May 1: Cardinals 12, Pirates 5 -- Flaherty's run support stock continues to skyrocket
Jack Flaherty is a run-support magnet. After scoring 12 runs against the Pirates, the Cardinals have now scored at least five runs in each of Flaherty's six starts (the most of any pitcher this season).

In total, St. Louis has scored 61 runs in the games that Flaherty has started. Of those 61, 49 were scored while Flaherty was still the pitcher of record -- also the most any pitcher has gotten in the Majors this year.