Sunday Game Day Preview: Leahy Takes the Ball

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Game Day Preview: Leahy Takes the Ball as Cardinals Seek Series Win Over Reds
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to carry the momentum from Saturday night’s shutout victory into this afternoon’s rubber game against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. CT.

Right-hander Kyle Leahy will start for St. Louis against Cincinnati left-hander Andrew Abbott. The game will be televised on Cards.TV and carried on KMOX and WIJR.

Cincinnati Reds: LHP Andrew Abbott, 5-6, 3.89 ERA, 90 strikeouts
St. Louis Cardinals: RHP Kyle Leahy, 7-4, 3.59 ERA, 79 strikeouts

The Cardinals enter Sunday at 53-51 after responding to Friday night’s frustrating loss with a convincing 7-0 victory Saturday.

Andre Pallante delivered seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out eight. The Cardinals supported him with a six-run sixth inning that finally broke open a game that had remained close through the first five frames. (Reuters)

Alec Burleson collected three hits, while Iván Herrera, Bryan Torres and Blaze Jordan helped turn a one-run game into a comfortable Cardinals victory.

It was exactly the kind of complete performance St. Louis had been searching for.

The starter controlled the game. The offense eventually added on. The bullpen finished the job.

Now the challenge is doing it again.

The Cardinals have spent much of the second half alternating between encouraging victories and painful defeats. Winning Saturday was important, but taking the series would mean considerably more than splitting another pair of games and leaving the weekend with another missed opportunity.

St. Louis leads Cincinnati 5-2 in the season series. A victory today would give the Cardinals their second series win over the Reds at Busch Stadium and provide some momentum before the Chicago Cubs arrive Monday.

The Cardinals also remain directly involved in the National League Wild Card race.

Arizona holds the final postseason position at 55-50. St. Louis is 53-51, 1½ games behind the Diamondbacks, while Pittsburgh sits another half-game behind the Cardinals at 53-52. (MLB.com)

That makes today another game the Cardinals cannot afford to treat casually.

The Reds may be below .500, but they have already shown how quickly they can change a game. Cincinnati won Friday’s opener 4-2 after Eugenio Suárez hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning, turning a 2-1 Cardinals lead into another late defeat.

Saturday, St. Louis answered with its best pitching performance of the series and one of its most productive innings since the All-Star break.

Today determines whether that response carries any weight.

Leahy enters the game pitching some of the best baseball of his Major League career.

The right-hander has gone 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA and 20 strikeouts over his last five appearances. He has allowed only two earned runs during that span. (StatMuse)

His most recent start came Monday night in Anaheim, when he gave the Cardinals six strong innings against the Angels. St. Louis carried a 2-1 lead into the ninth before losing on a walk-off hit-by-pitch. (Reuters)

Leahy did his job.

That has become a familiar theme throughout his first full season in the rotation.

He does not attract the same attention as the hardest throwers in the organization, but he has become one of the club’s most dependable pitchers. Leahy changes speeds, competes in the strike zone and has shown the ability to adjust as a lineup sees him multiple times.

He has also demonstrated the versatility that originally made him valuable as a swingman.

The Cardinals once viewed Leahy as someone who could fill nearly any role on a pitching staff. He could start, provide multiple innings from the bullpen or cover an emergency situation.

This season, he has become something more.

He has become a legitimate Major League starting pitcher.

Leahy will need to control the top of Cincinnati’s order and prevent the Reds from creating havoc on the bases.

Elly De La Cruz remains the centerpiece of everything Cincinnati does offensively. His combination of speed and power forces pitchers and defenders to remain alert from the moment he reaches base.

The Cardinals handled him Saturday, although three defensive errors by De La Cruz helped St. Louis score its first run. (Reuters)

Leahy cannot give him free passes today.

Sal Stewart has also become one of Cincinnati’s most dangerous hitters. He has consistently produced in the middle of the order and has shown the ability to drive the ball to all fields.

Suárez remains the veteran power threat who punished the Cardinals on Friday, while Tyler Stephenson, Spencer Steer and Noelvi Marte provide additional depth.

The Reds do not need many opportunities to score if De La Cruz is running and the heart of the order is coming to the plate.

Leahy must attack the strike zone, control the running game and avoid allowing Cincinnati to create extended innings through walks or defensive mistakes.

On the other side, the Cardinals will face a pitcher who knows them well.

Abbott will make his 10th career start against St. Louis, more than he has made against any other opponent. He is 4-4 in his career against the Cardinals. (MLB.com)

The 27-year-old left-hander enters with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. His most recent start came Monday in Seattle, where he worked six innings, allowed four hits and one unearned run, and struck out six. (MLB.com)

Abbott is not an overpowering pitcher in the traditional sense, but he is capable of keeping hitters uncomfortable.

He changes speeds, moves the ball around the strike zone and understands how to keep hitters from sitting on one pitch. He is especially effective when opponents become impatient and begin chasing pitches outside the zone.

The Cardinals will likely need their right-handed hitters to carry a larger share of the load.

Jordan Walker, Iván Herrera, Masyn Winn and Blaze Jordan should all have opportunities to do damage against the Cincinnati left-hander.

Walker remains the Cardinals’ most dangerous right-handed power bat. Herrera continues to provide quality at-bats and on-base ability, while Winn’s ability to put the ball in play can be important against a pitcher who changes speeds.

Blaze Jordan has also continued to make the most of his opportunity.

His two-run double supplied the Cardinals’ only hit Friday night, and he helped keep Saturday’s six-run inning moving. Jordan has not looked overwhelmed by Major League pitching, and his willingness to use the entire field has given the Cardinals another productive right-handed bat.

The Cardinals must also continue receiving production from Burleson.

He was at the center of Saturday’s victory, collecting three hits and driving the offense when the game remained close. Burleson has been one of the most consistent hitters in the lineup, regardless of whether the opposing pitcher throws left-handed or right-handed.

St. Louis cannot afford to rely on one hitter, however.

Saturday’s sixth inning was successful because several hitters contributed. Herrera reached. Torres delivered. Jordan kept the inning moving. Burleson added another hit. The Cardinals created pressure and did not allow Cincinnati to escape after the first mistake.

That is what a productive Major League offense looks like.

It does not wait for one three-run homer to solve everything. It strings together competitive at-bats and forces the opposing pitcher and defense to record every out.

The Cardinals will need that approach against Abbott.

They cannot spend five innings watching hittable pitches and hoping the game remains tied. They must make the left-hander work, create traffic and take advantage when runners reach scoring position.

They must also resist the temptation to expand the strike zone simply because Abbott changes speeds effectively.

A rubber game should be managed with urgency.

Leahy has pitched well enough recently to deserve an opportunity to work deep into the game, but Oliver Marmol cannot allow the game to drift away while waiting for the perfect bullpen matchup.

JoJo Romero remains unavailable following his appendicitis, and the Cardinals’ late-inning roles have been unsettled.

That means leverage must matter more than inning labels.

The best available reliever may be needed in the seventh inning if De La Cruz, Stewart and Suárez are coming to the plate. Saving that pitcher for a ninth-inning lead that never arrives would serve no purpose.

Saturday’s seven-run advantage allowed Marmol to avoid some of those difficult decisions.

Today is unlikely to be that comfortable.

Abbott has been too effective, and the Reds have too much offensive talent, to expect another easy afternoon.

This game may be decided by one opportunity with runners in scoring position, one defensive play or one bullpen decision.

The Cardinals have already secured the season-series advantage over Cincinnati, but winning today would do more than improve that record.

It would give St. Louis its second victory in three days after a difficult stretch in which the club lost seven of nine games. It would move the Cardinals two games above .500. It would allow them to welcome the Cubs to Busch Stadium having won a division series rather than explaining another opportunity that slipped away.

The trade deadline is also approaching, and every result continues to influence how the Cardinals evaluate their position.

A team that wins series remains in the postseason race.

A team that settles for occasional victories eventually runs out of schedule.

Kyle Leahy has been one of the Cardinals’ best starters over the past month.

The offense finally erupted Saturday.

The season series belongs to St. Louis, and the Wild Card remains within reach.

Now the Cardinals must finish the weekend.

Win the rubber game, take the series and turn the page toward Chicago.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Kyle Leahy, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB