Major League: Tracking Stars From St. Louis Area

David Freese

The Wildwood-based hero from the 2011 World Series has cooled after an early hot start. Going into Sunday's game against Los Angeles, Freese was hitting .266 with 8 HR and 29 RBI, but was hitting .176 in his last 10 games entering Sunday.

Ryan Howard

The slugger from was the subject of a lengthy report this past weekend in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Howard has been rehabbing a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the 2011 playoffs against the Cardinals. The newspaper explored if the Phillies' use of a cortisone shot last September played a role in the later injury. Howard did not comment for the story, but the team defended its handling of players according to a story by the Associated Press Sunday.

Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer, who has struggled this season on the mound for the Detroit Tigers, found his form in dominating fashion Sunday. He pitching seven innings and struck out 15, which according to espn.com is the most in 40 years for the franchise. He evened his record at 3-3, after going 4 innings in his start Tuesday, not enough for the win.

Scott Van Slyke

The Burroughs grad from Chesterfield hit his first major league home run Sunday night pinch-hitting for the Los Angeles Dodgers against his hometown team. It was a 3 run blast in the seventh inning to give L.A. a 6-5 lead and the ultimate margin of victory over the Cardinals. It had otherwise been a quiet week for, the Burroughs son of former St. Louis Cardinal and former analyst Andy Van Slyke. Scott singled in his first major league at bat earlier this month and got his first start for the injury-depleted Dodgers on Tuesday. 

Kyle McClellan

The Hazelwood West graduate and a trusted member of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen will be on the disabled list likely until at least Aug. 1 with elbow issues, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

David Phelps

Phelps, the Hazelwood West graduate, is back in the bullpen after the Yankees lost closers Mariano Rivera and David Robertson to injury and welcomed back veteran Andy Pettitte to the rotation. Saturday, Phelps made a diving catch on a sacrifice bunt, but an errant throw in an attempted double-play ultimately led to the game winning run in a 6-5 loss to the Reds.

Mark Buehrle

The former Francis Howell North hurler is 3-4 in the young season, his first with the Miami Marlins. The win-loss record is deceptive. It comes with a solid 3.17 ERA and is complicated by a Marlins squad which has been starved for run support this season. According to mlb.com, Buehrle will take the mound Monday for Miami against ageless 49-year-old wonder Jamie Moyer.