The Cardinals made San Diego superstar closer Mason Miller throw 29 pitches in the ninth inning before falling 4-2 to the Padres on Saturday at Petco Park.
Throughout the season, as the Cardinals’ have overwhelmed foes and surprised onlookers, manager Oliver Marmol has reminded that “tiny victories” have often added up for sustained success for MLB’s second-youngest squad.
Getting 23-year-old slugger Jordan Walker to swing at fewer sliders off the plate is one of those “tiny victories” the Cardinals have chalked up at times this season. Having Michael McvGreevy and Matthew Liberatore learn how to get outs without overwhelming velocity has been another.
The Cardinals lost 4-2 to the Padres on Saturday night, but how they made superstar closer Mason Miller work in the eighth and ninth innings might qualify as a tiny victory that could pay dividends in the series finale on Sunday.
Miller, who has gained national headlines for how he has dominated hitters this season, came into Saturday 11 for 11 in saves with a 1.04 ERA in 17 appearances. He had allowed just seven hits and two earned runs in 17 1/3 innings while striking out 34 and walking just three. Also, he ranked in MLB’s 100th percentile in average fastball velocity (101.2 mph), chase rate (44 percent), whiff rate (57.8 percent), strikeout rate (55.7 percent) and hard-hit rate (16.7 percent).
The Cardinals did their best to lay off Miller’s slider and drew two walks and Yohel Pozo reached on a wild pitch to load the bases in the ninth inning against the game’s most dominant force out of the bullpen. Cardinals’ rookie JJ Wetherholt, who had a third-inning single and scored in the eighth inning after being hit by a pitch, saw three sliders to open his at bat before getting a 101.8 mph four-seam fastball that he was unable to pull the trigger on for a game-ending strikeout.
Still, the Cardinals made Miller throw 29 pitches – 17 for strikes – meaning he will likely be unavailable to pitch in Sunday’s finale.
Dustin May registers another Quality Start
Dustin May (3-4) pitched 4 1/3 no-hit innings before allowing a solo home run to Ty France. May was a victim of bad luck later in the inning when Fernando Tatis Jr. looped an end-of-the-bat single into right field to plate two more runs.
Over six innings of work, May surrendered just three hits and two earned runs, while striking out seven and walking two. It was his fifth quality start over his last six appearances.
The Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Walker and Nolan Gorman singled and Nathan Church doubled in a run.
Ivan Herrera’s run-scoring double forced Miller into the game in the eighth inning. Then, in the ninth, Gorman and Church walked and Pozo reached on a wild pitch despite being one of four strikeouts in the inning by the fire-balling closer.
Join the conversation
Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!