13 Matt Carpenter 3B

Carpenter went 2-for-4 with a double, a solo home run, two walks and two runs in a win over the Pirates on Saturday.

At this point, it seems as if opposing teams should just automatically spot Carpenter first base in at least half of his at-bats. The veteran infielder now sports a .982 OPS, while his 61 extra-base hits have him on pace to easily eclipse the career-high 75 he compiled in 2015 over 208 additional plate appearances. Factoring in Saturday's production, Carpenter has reached safely in 23 straight games.

Carpenter went 2-for-4 with a double, a leadoff solo home run and two walks in a loss to the Pirates on Friday.

Carpenter's bat appears incapable of cooling off at this point, as he's started August off on the same heater he's been on for two-plus months. The veteran infielder is 4-for-10 with a double, Friday's homer and corresponding RBI, five walks and three runs over the first three games of the new month. That follows a July in which he parlayed 31 hits into 21 RBI, largely on the strength of 11 round trippers. Carpenter's 27 homers on the season comfortably pace the field on the Cardinals and rank eighth overall in all of baseball.

Carpenter went 0-for-2 with three walks, two runs and a stolen base in a win over the Rockies on Wednesday.

Save for the fact he didn't log a base hit, Carpenter played the quintessential leadoff role Wednesday, showing his trademark discerning eye to draw a trio of free passes. His second-inning stolen base was his first of the season as well, and Carpenter has now pushed his on-base percentage to .388, the second-highest total of his career.

Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Rockies.

Carpenter hit a leadoff homer -- his 26th of the year -- and later drove in a run via a sacrifice fly. Carpenter had an excellent July, hitting .333 with 11 homers, 21 RBI and 22 runs scored. The 32-year-old also has 31 doubles on the season and his .575 slugging percentage is tied for eighth in the majors.