ST. LOUIS — If there is to be a fifth player plucked from the Cardinals’ roster and added to next week’s All-Star Game, the sage choice would be starter Miles Mikolas.
A day after he walked the field with some burning sage leaves and fumigated the team’s bat rack with smoke from the plant named for “healing,” Mikolas cleared the air and made his case from the mound. The Cardinals’ right-hander pitched a strong 7 1/3 innings, buying time for the rally and power that came from the bottom of the lineup in a 6-1 victory Monday against Philadelphia at Busch Stadium.
A series that began with two consecutive shutouts and endless questions about the direction of the Cardinals’ offense ended with home runs by Corey Dickerson and Lars Nootbaar – hit presumably with bats that received attention from Mikolas’ herbal remedy.
