Kyle Leahy showed the ill effects of the Cardinals limiting his innings of late on Friday in an ugly 9-1 loss to the Nationals. Still, it's been a positive season overall for the 29-year-old right-hander.
Kyle Leahy’s 2026 season, his first as a full-time starter at the MLB level for the St. Louis Cardinals, could easily be broken apart into two drastically different segments before Friday’s final outing at Busch Stadium.
Over Leahy’s first 14 starts, when he was still adapting to a starter’s workload and the challenge of navigating a lineup a third time, he went just 5-4 and posted a forgettable 4.63 ERA in 70 innings of work.
Then, in late June, something seemed to click for the 29-year-old right-hander known for his expansive preparation tactics. Over Leahy’s next 14 starters, he racked up an impressive 5-0 record, a sparkling 1.94 ERA and a 12-start stretch where he allowed two or fewer runs – something that put him in the company of Cardinals’ legends Adam Wainwright and Bob Gibson.
What changed for the 6-foot-5 right-hander who features six pitches? Manager Oliver Marmol, who resisted the cries to move Leahy back to the bullpen when he was initially struggling as a starter, pointed to patience and the pitcher’s smarts.
“His preparation is incredibly impressive, and his aptitude is through the roof,” Marmol said of Leahy, who was hit hard in another abbreviated outing on Friday when the Cardinals lost to the Nationals 9-1 at Busch Stadium. “His self-evaluation is as raw, direct and productive as you would want in a player. There’s nothing you’re going to be able to tell him that he hasn’t already told himself. When you combine all those things, it puts him in the best position to take real strides forward.
“We always believed he was capable of doing what he’s done over the second half. Even when he was going through (early-season struggles) there were other (metrics) that were pointing in the right direction that gave you confidence to stay the course – even where there were people on the outside who disagreed. … I’m glad we stayed the course.”
With Friday's loss, the Cardinals were officially eliminated from Wild Card contention.
Suffering his first loss since a July 17 start at Busch Stadium against the Padres, Leahy showed the ill-effects of the Cardinals limiting his innings of late. He left far too many balls up in the zone and ultimately surrendered five hits, six earned runs, three walks and a homer to Nats rising start Dylan Crews in a forgettable outing.
The Cardinals have worked to limit Leahy’s workload for much of the past month with him having never pitched more than 88 innings at the MLB level before this season. His 29th start on Friday left him at 138 innings worked so far this season.
Rookie left-hander Cooper Hjerpe, who has been used in a “piggyback” role with Leahy over the last two weeks to purposefully reduce the latter’s workload, pitched well in relief. Hjerpe had an MLB debut for the ages on Sept. 6 when he pitched four perfect innings and struck out six. However, his next outing on Sept. 13 saw him surrender four walks, two hit batters, two hits and four earned runs in an inning-plus of work against the White Sox.
The lefty with the herky-jerky throwing motion and the lowered arm slot found a happy medium on Friday night against the Nationals. This time around, he walked just two and struck out three in a four-inning outing with two earned runs allowed.
