Cardinals Look to Even Series

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Game Day Preview: Cardinals Look to Even Series as Grind Begins in Earnest

ST. LOUIS — Yesterday was one baseball game. Today feels bigger.

When the St. Louis Cardinals take the field Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium against the Seattle Mariners, they won’t simply be trying to even a three-game series — they’ll be taking another step into what could become one of the defining stretches of their season: 17 games in 17 consecutive days, no breathers, no off days, no shortcuts.

This is where clubs find out who they are.

At 14-11, the Cardinals have already shown flashes of what this young roster can become. They swept a quality Houston club on the road, battled through injuries, and have remained competitive despite roster turnover and the growing pains that come with leaning on youth. Friday night’s 3-2 loss to Seattle was frustrating, but hardly discouraging. Andre Pallante delivered arguably his sharpest outing of the season, Masyn Winn stayed hot, and St. Louis was one swing away late from changing the story.

Now comes Game 2 — and a difficult challenge.

Seattle sends right-hander Bryan Woo (1-2, 2.25 ERA) to the mound, and on paper, he looks like one of the American League’s more quietly dominant starters. Woo attacks hitters with a riding mid-90s fastball, a devastating splitter, a sharp slider, and a cutter that keeps left-handed bats honest. Opponents are hitting just .198 against him, and he’s allowed only four home runs in 32 innings.

Simply put: he doesn’t beat himself.

That means the Cardinals’ offense — which cooled considerably after erupting during the Houston sweep — will need disciplined at-bats, traffic on the bases, and pressure baseball.

That starts with Masyn Winn.

Winn enters Saturday riding a nine-game hitting streak and looking every bit like the sparkplug at the top of the lineup this club envisioned. He’s spraying line drives, using the whole field, and forcing defenses to play fast when he reaches base. Behind him, rookie JJ Wetherholt continues to look increasingly comfortable in big spots, while Iván Herrera remains one of the club’s toughest outs, combining loud contact with an elite on-base profile.

Keep an eye on Herrera early — pitchers have hit him in four straight games, which tells you two things: he’s crowding the plate fearlessly, and opponents are struggling to pitch him inside cleanly.

For St. Louis, left-hander Matthew Liberatore gets the ball, and this may quietly be a big opportunity.

Liberatore (0-1, 3.67 ERA) has shown better stuff this season than his record suggests. His fastball has life, his changeup has become a legitimate put-away weapon, and his improved slider is giving him a second swing-and-miss offering. The biggest issue has been command. Too many walks have elevated pitch counts and shortened outings.

With this brutal schedule stretch now underway, Oli Marmol would gladly take five strong innings and hand the baseball to what is becoming one of baseball’s emerging bullpen stories.

That bullpen suddenly has teeth.

Riley O’Brien has been nearly unhittable, throwing triple digits and pitching like a man who has waited his entire life for this moment. Gordon Graceffo has become a trusted bridge arm in leverage spots. Together, they’re helping shorten games — and in stretches like this, shortened games become survival tools.

The Cardinals will need that formula repeatedly over the next two and a half weeks:

Get five innings.
Hand it off.
Finish strong.
Wake up and do it again tomorrow.

Old-school baseball men used to call stretches like this “separator baseball.” Depth gets tested. Bullpens get exposed. Contenders find traction. Pretenders start leaking oil.

We’re about to find out what these New Era Redbirds are made of.

First pitch is set for 1:15 p.m. at Busch Stadium.

And the marathon rolls on.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports