ST. LOUIS — What the Cardinals lost Friday was another game in the standings, another perplexing outing against Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller, another night when the offense unplugged, and another chance to fatten their record against an opponent with a dwindling one.
What they potentially gained could mean far more.
After a first inning to find his footing, Miles Mikolas had an assertive return to the rotation in his longest outing since the 2019 National League Championship Series. Limited by elbow and forearm injuries to 59 pitches in the majors in the 22 months since, Mikolas pitched five sturdy innings, did not allow an earned run, and hinted at the ballast he could provide for a rotation long in need of such stability.
The lack of runs led to the Cardinals’ 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh at Busch Stadium. A lack starting pitching is what plunged them out of the division race.
At least one is trending in a positive direction.
Mikolas’ first pitch of his return — a 93-mph fastball — glanced off Yadier Molina’s mitt and into the facemask of umpire CB Bucknor. The game stopped so that Bucknor could be met with and evaluated by trainers. He continued, and the pitching he saw got better from there. Mikolas walked two and hit a batter, but otherwise held the Pirates hitless through his first three innings. He found a groove he hadn’t since 2019 in the fourth inning as he struck out the final two batters after a sacrifice fly.
The added zip on his fastball hummed as high as 96 mph and averaged 93 mph, right snug against his average before all the elbow trouble and different than his only previous appearance this season. Mikolas could not get to 60 pitches in that one start, and his fastball sagged for an average of 90.2 mph. Mikolas’ only perfect inning was also his final inning as he completed five on 84 pitches. He allowed two hits, struck out five, and provided indications he could be part of this second-half rotation revitalization effort.
For the first time all season, the Cardinals will have Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, and Jack Flaherty in the rotation at the same time, flanked by newcomers J.A. Happ and Jon Lester.
“What a luxury,” manager Mike Shildt said before the game. “Starting pitching.”
What a necessity.
Offense.
For the third time in as many starts against the Cardinals, Keller confounded them. He had held the Cardinals to two hits in his previous 11 innings against them, and though they scattered six on him Friday, they also struck out six times. Lars Nootbaar had two of the six hits against Keller. The Cardinals did not have an extra-base hit in the game, and there was only one until Pittsburgh’s Yoshi Tsutsugo launched a solo home run in the ninth inning to inflate the Pirates’ lead.
The Cardinals were shut out for the eighth time.
To help Mikolas get through his early innings it took sensational diving catches by center fielder Harrison Bader, and to cost Mikolas in one nettlesome inning it took a misplay in center by Bader.
In the first inning, Bader dove and cradled the ball in the heel of his glove to rob a base hit from Colin Moran. In the third, Mikolas completed his first perfect inning when Bader dove forward to catch a fly ball and then tumble into a sideways shoulder role. Both plays will add to his Gold Glove-resume and flex those advanced metrics when it comes to low-probability catches that he’s pulled in.
And then there was the error.
In the fourth inning, back-to-back singles became the fuel for the Pirates’ 2-0 lead, and neither of the runs were earned against Mikolas. After Moran’s single to right field, catcher Jacob Stallings stung a liner to center. Bader appeared to be caught between diving for a third time or holding back for the play off the first hop. In the end, he did neither. The ball scooted past him, allowing Moran to score from first and Stallings to end up at third. Stallings scored on the first of Gregory Polanco’s two sacrifice flies.
In the sixth a leadoff double did give reliever Andrew Miller the lefty matchup the Cardinals desired and the outs, but not the outcomes.
Twice on an 0-2 pitch, Miller allowed a deep fly ball that was caught, but was also deep enough to advance the runner. Bryan Reynolds had the double. Left-handed batter Moran had the first fly ball on the 0-2 pitch to advance Reynolds. Against left-handed-hitting Polanco, Miller again got ahead 0-2 and then the next pitch was skied to center field — far enough to usher Reynolds home for the 3-0 lead. Plenty for Keller.
Pirates right-hander Keller, now 32 starts into his major league career, continues to mystify the Cardinals in ways he does not other opponents.
Coming into Friday’s game, Keller had allowed one run in his first 11 innings against the division rivals, and he left that start having allowed one run in 16 innings vs. the Cardinals. Against all other opponents, Keller has a 6.81 ERA in a total of 120 1/3 innings. The Cardinals have helped him to a 0.56 ERA in three starts. They did get three times as many hits Friday off Keller has they had in previous games, but could not convert any of them to bona fide threats.
Rookie Nootbaar had three hits by the end of the sixth. It wasn’t until Keller was out of the game that Nootbaar got into scoring position safely.
A leadoff single in the third was erased on a double play. Back-to-back singles in the second, including Nootbaar’s first hit of the game, was sidestepped when Keller struck out Paul DeJong. That allowed the right-hander to walk Bader to face Mikolas. A popup in foul territory ended the inning with neither baserunner budging. Same in the fifth, as consecutive singles put runners at the corners for the middle of the Cardinals order. Keller got help from his fortune when Paul Goldschmidt lined out and then ended the inning with a long, high, deep but ultimately short of the wall fly ball from Nolan Arenado.
When Keller finished his six innings, he had stranded six runners.
The Cardinals had twice as many hits as the Pirates but had been to third, let alone rounded it to head home, fewer times.
