Evolving bullpen deals 5 scoreless, seals win

ST. LOUIS -- Rested up and replenished after what was revealed to be elbow soreness, Kwang Hyun Kim’s night was instead laborious. He was pinch-hit for in the fourth inning after 83 pitches in a move that paid off handsomely; Matt Carpenter put the Cardinals ahead for good with a one-out double, and St. Louis nicked Royals pitching some more in what became a 5-2 win at Busch Stadium on Saturday night.

It didn’t appear to be set up that way. With Alex Reyes used two days in a row and Giovanny Gallegos potentially unavailable after pitching himself into disastrous nights the two days leading into this three-game set against Kansas City, St. Louis was pitching from behind even when it had the lead on Saturday. Eating innings has been the foundation of this post-Trade Deadline Cardinals team, due in part to the fact that it doesn’t possess a proven bullpen.

But that’s starting to take shape.

Luis García, who’s pitched with a lead just once this season, was handed the most nimble of margins as the first man out of the bullpen on Saturday. He combined with Ryan Helsley, Génesis Cabrera and Gallegos, who was available after all, for five spotless frames, tagged for just one baserunner, with six strikeouts.

It was a performance that caught their opponents off guard.

“We’re trying to figure out ways to get into the bullpen as quick as we can, run through that starter and make them make that move,” said Royals manager Mike Matheny. “ … But their ’pen came in, and what we’ve seen in this series hasn’t lined up with really what we saw as we scouted. They’ve been throwing the ball well, didn’t give much.”

For Kim, it was revealed he has been dealing with some left elbow soreness, which accounted for his nine days of rest since his last start. The Cards said it’s minor and that he was not pulled after four frames due to it.

Regardless, Kim’s brief night set up what became a glowing evening for the bullpen, and with it, some roles are becoming clearer:

HIGH-LEVERAGE
RHP Alex Reyes
Role: Closer

Reyes, not called upon to pitch for the third straight night on Saturday, is at least riding a positive vibe, after he converted the save for Friday’s win following his undoing in Thursday’s loss. The Cardinals maintain total confidence in Reyes; he leads the Majors in games finished with 44, is 25-for-26 in save opportunities and set a Major League record along the way by converting on the first 24 such chances of his career. The only question: does he pitch as a starter next season?

RHP Giovanny Gallegos
Role: Setup righty

Saturday’s outing may not have been important for any Cardinal more than it was for Gallegos. The steady righty had allowed six earned runs (of 21 total on the year) in his last two outings, being handed the loss in the final two games of the Braves' series. How’s a response of a 1-2-3 ninth on 13 pitches for his second save of 2021 sound?

LHP Génesis Cabrera
Role: Setup lefty

Cabrera’s been through a rigamarole this season, at the center of controversy when he accidently hit Bryce Harper in the face with a pitch on April 28. Since then, he’s been called upon 40 times (the most of any Cardinal), often without rest and has provided a 3.26 ERA. On Saturday, it manifested in working around a leadoff single. Only Reyes and Gallegos have thrown more innings out of the Cards ’pen.

FLUID ARMS
RHP Ryan Helsley
Role: Magician

Of pitchers with at least 25 inherited runners this season, only one has let fewer runners score than Helsley has, at just four. Helsley has struggled at times with his own clean innings, but he’s lowered his ERA from 6.45 at the start of June to 4.87 as of last out on Saturday.

LHP Andrew Miller
Role: Perplexing

Miller has shown flashes of his old self since returning off the injured list in June, with a 1.53 ERA in 19 appearances. The peripheral numbers aren’t as encouraging, but he’s been called upon for just four pitches in the month of August.

STOCK RISING
LHP T.J. McFarland
Role: Sky-rocketing lefty

McFarland, one of three out-of-organization additions to the Cardinals’ current bullpen, is turning heads. He’s not been scored upon in August, needing 40 pitches across 3 1/3 frames. Most encouraging: he’s walked two batters since he joined St. Louis.

RHP Luis García
Role: Evolving

Next to McFarland, no reliever’s stock may be rising more than García’s. The Cardinals drool at his stuff, with a fastball that topped out at 99.4 mph on Saturday, and five straight scoreless outings -- four of which have been multi-inning efforts.

"At the beginning, I had some bad luck. I'm just trying to throw strikes,” García said. “... I know what I can do, I just keep working to do the same."

EATING INNINGS
RHP Justin Miller
Role: Strike-thrower

Miller, claimed off waivers from the Nationals, has been tabbed with more lower-leverage innings, but his tendency of strike-throwing has also landed him to work out of teammates’ jams. It didn’t work when he pitched behind Reyes in Thursday’s blowup, but he’s been called upon the most of any of the additions to the Cards ’pen.