The St. Louis Cardinals haven’t lost a series since Aug. 16-18 and still hold a glimmer of hope of earning a National League wild-card berth.
And Sunday afternoon, they will try to win another series as they close a three-game set against the visiting Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners (72-71) won 6-1 on Friday, and the Cardinals (72-70) responded with a 2-0 victory Saturday night.
“Every day we’re coming out here and we’re just battling as a team, so it’s fun,” St. Louis catcher Pedro Pages said after his two-run, eighth-inning homer decided Saturday’s game.
“It’s so cool — everybody in the dugout loved every second of it,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of the homer, one of just two hits for the Cardinals.
St. Louis has won seven of its past 10 games while trying to stay alive in the NL wild-card race. Entering play Sunday, the Cardinals are six games behind the New York Mets for the third and final wild card. St. Louis would have to leapfrog the Mets and well as the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs to earn a wild card.
The Cardinals will close the series with the Mariners with right-hander Miles Mikolas (8-10, 5.27 ERA), who lasted just four innings in his most recent start last Sunday against the New York Yankees. He allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits while striking out five and walking nobody in his team’s 14-7 win.
Mikolas has allowed four or more runs in five of his past six starts. Against the Mariners, he is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA in two career starts.
Before Saturday, Seattle had won three straight games by a combined score of 28-8. Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford praised new hitting coach Edgar Martinez amid that surge.
“Man, he’s been huge,” Crawford told MLB.com on Friday. “He’s been really good … just the advice he gives is so simple, and it really works way better than anything else.
“As a group, we simplified a bunch of stuff. Everyone’s going into each at-bat just relaxed and calm and ready to do damage. We all have a plan, and these last couple games, the plan’s been simple, and I think everyone’s bought into that.”
Then the Mariners regressed Saturday, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position while stranding 10 runners on base. In the process, they wasted a gem from Logan Gilbert, who threw seven scoreless innings before surrendering the home run to Pages.
The Mariners will turn to Luis Castillo (11-12, 3.60 ERA). In his past two starts, the veteran right-hander has allowed four runs on 10 hits – including three homers – in 12 2/3 innings.
Castillo is familiar to the Cardinals from his long tenure with the Cincinnati Reds. He is 6-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 19 career starts against St. Louis.
The Cardinals got good news and bad news on the injury front Saturday. Nolan Arenado returned to action after departing Friday night’s game with left shoulder soreness. But infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan was out of the lineup and is listed as day-to-day.
“He has an infection in his foot that kind of blew up overnight, and it’s hard for him to put any pressure on it right now,” Marmol said Saturday. “So he’s going to have [Saturday] off, and we’ll see how he bounces back from it.”
The Cardinals made a mid-series roster adjustment, recalling reliever Chris Roycroft from Triple-A Memphis and sending Kyle Leahy back to that club.
Leahy threw 39 pitches Friday while allowing four runs (three earned) in 1 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
