St. Louis

Cardinals

Walker made it a 9-4 game with his two-run single. The 22-year-old has swung the bat better as of late, but his awful run to begin the year still has him with an OPS of .544 in 2024.

Mikolas allowed hits to the first five hitters he faced, and all five of them scored. An inning later, he gave up a two-run shot to former St. Louis outfielder Randy Arozarena. The right-handed hurler has now allowed at least four runs in five of his last six outings, and his ERA is now up to an unhealthy 5.55. He’ll try and lower that figure Sunday against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

There was some hope that Donovan could play Sunday after missing Saturday while dealing with an infection in his foot, but the Cardinals will give him at least one more day off. José Fermín again gets the start at second base in Donovan’s absence.

Pages’ home run was his sixth of the year. He hit a two-run shot off Logan Gilbert in what was otherwise a scoreless game. The clutch two-run shot was the biggest hit of the year for the backup backstop. Pages is hitting .245 with a .683 OPS and 22 RBI on the year.

Hensley’s save was his 43rd of the year. He allowed one hit, but struck out three batters in the inning. Helsley has a 2.23 ERA on the year. The 30-year-old right-hander has been among the best closers in baseball this season.

Gibson gave up three hits, walked three and struck out nine. Gibson certainly pitched well enough to win, but the Cardinals couldn’t push across a run until he was out of the ballgame. He’s allowed two runs or less in three of his last five starts. Gibson is 8-6 with a 4.20 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 143 strikeouts in 154 1/3 innings on the season. The 36-year-old right-hander is set to face the Reds at home next week.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol told reporters before Saturday’s game the infection makes it difficult for Donovan to put pressure on his foot. Marmol also did note that the team is considering Donovan day-to-day, and they’re hopeful Donovan can play Sunday in the series finale. José Fermín is starting at second base with Donovan unavailable.

Arenado said after the game that he felt something grab during an early at-bat last night, and he was lifted before his final plate appearance. Apparently, whatever it was, it’s better today.

Roycroft provides the Cardinals with a fresh arm heading into Saturday’s showdown against the Mariners. The 27-year-old righty has made 24 relief appearances this season in the big leagues and has been downright dominant at Triple-A Memphis with a sparkling 1.96 ERA and 42/15 K/BB ratio across 41 1/3 innings of work.

Leahy heads back to the minors after allowing three runs over 1 1/3 innings on Friday in relief against the Marinrs. The 27-year-old righty has posted a serviceable 4.02 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 32/10 K/BB ratio across 47 innings (31 appearances) this season at the highest level.