Combining his first and second halves in his two seasons with the Cardinals, shortstop Jhonny Peralta either hit .289 or .249, depending on your perspective. This is to say that while the veteran has been solid in the field and power productive with a total of 38 homers in those seasons, he also has been a tad inconsistent at bat.

Though he had 14 home runs, Peralta batted just .253 before the All-Star break in his first year here, 2014, and he admitted it took him time to learn the pitchers in a new league. After the break and more familiar, he batted .276 and had 31 runs batted in over 64 games.

That latter trend continued in the first half of last season as Peralta, gaining an All-Star starting berth for the first time, batted .298 with 13 homers and 46 runs batted in over 87 games. But, after the break, Peralta’s power disappeared and his average dwindled, notably in August and September. In those final two months, the 33-year-old had only five extra-base hits – three doubles and two homers – in 54 games, and he batted just .243 after the All-Star break. He slugged just .303 and .308 in those months.

All this has led to the common perception that Peralta, who appeared in 155 games last year and 157 the year before, almost all of them at a demanding defensive position, wore down in the second half.