Despite rocky finish vs. Rays, how Cardinals want to spell relief with post-deadline bullpen (2024)

One of the best litmus tests of a bullpen’s depth and versatility is when there’s another one of those usual taut, highwire games without the usual relievers to secure it.

The Cardinals entered Thursday night’s chance to sweep Tampa Bay with several members of the bullpen unavailable, including All-Star closer Ryan Helsley, due to the workload in the two previous games against the Rays. They had to map a different route with a different deployment of relievers to reach the same, familiar destination – a game certain to be to a save situation decided by three or fewer runs.

On the first pitch of lefty JoJo Romero’s appearance in the seventh the game flipped on the Cardinals. Brandon Lowe’s two-run homer off Romero turned a one-run Cardinals lead into a one-run deficit on the way the Rays’ 6-4 victory at Busch Stadium.

“We got him in the spot we wanted,” manager Oliver Marmol said of their leading lefty, Romero. “Just unfortunately didn’t work out. That’s exactly that lane you want him and the inning you want him in. It happened really quick.”

It has been a slower churn to get to this point.

Ten days ago at the trade deadline, the Cardinals sought to add depth to their bullpen. They wanted to and, at least, protect it against wear from this demanding season and add another answer to a spot on the roster that, by its nature, is constantly facing new questions.

They found a deal shortly before the deadline that sent Dylan Carlson to Tampa Bay for seasoned, right-handed reliever Shawn Armstrong. It was a classic change-of-scenery swap. Carlson, a starter batting fifth for the Rays, had a two-run single in the first inning Thursday that gave the Rays’ a briefly enjoyed lead. Armstrong appeared in the eighth inning for the Cardinals and allowed a run while collecting two outs. He also warmed up in the sixth, and the Cardinals have told him he could be used in a variety of assignments, which he sees as “like anything – you have to earn the trust of the manager and the team,” he said.

Armstrong is exploring or establishing his role within the Cardinals’ post-deadline bullpen, even as they also discuss future internal moves for the right mix or rotation of relievers.

Riley O’Brien is edging from a health decision into a baseball decision. He’s struck out three in his past two scoreless, one-inning appearances for Class AAA Memphis. O’Brien, who is coming back from a flexor tendon injury, will join Kyle Leahy and Chris Roycroft as right-handed pitchers with minor-league options who can move between levels based on need.

“A good bullpen – you like having two lefties that are steady, three to four righties that are steady, and then optionable right-left, if needed,” Marmol said in his office before Thursday’s game. “And I feel like the balance has been fairly low-key compared to what we experienced (from our opponent), for example. They’ve turned over a new reliever every game this series, and that’s a norm. I feel like we haven’t done it as much this year.”

He added: “There’s not an immediate rush to change this group. But we also have to figure out what makes the most sense overall.”

What they have done is rely on the usual, reliable relievers a lot and in a lot of close games. Helsley leads the majors with 36 saves, Andrew Kittredge leads the majors in holds, Romero is in the top three, and the Cardinals are tied for the most save opportunities with 58. Helsley appeared in back-to-back ninth innings vs. the Rays this week. The Cardinals preferred to avoid Kittredge for a third consecutive day, but they were open to using him to close Thursday. Romero and Ryan Fernandez were available and prepped for high-leverage spots.

That’s what made the 58th save opportunity so revealing.

It showed who the Cardinals are ready to count on when the regulars aren’t available.

“I honestly trust everybody in that ‘pen,” Marmol said a few hours before making the decisions to reflect that statement. “If a guy is down, everyone just bumps up, right? I guess the simplest way is, yes, it allows you to bump everybody up in the way you would normally use them. So, I wouldn’t do Armstrong in the ninth as much as bump him up right to leverage, and Fernandez bumps up, and JoJo (etc.), you know?”

The moment that domino rally of relievers appeared came in the seventh.

Starter Kyle Gibson pitched past Carlson’s two first-inning RBIs to complete six innings and leave a 4-2 for the bullpen to protect. With the bottom of the Rays’ lineup coming up, the Cardinals turned to right-handed rookie Leahy. Not, for example, newcomer Armstrong. Fernandez would have been used in that spot if the game was headed toward Helsley. The Cardinals appeared to be funneling the two-run game toward Kittredge or Fernandez with Leahy getting the seventh and, if it went well, Romero the eighth.

It did not go well.

Leahy walked the No. 8 hitter to begin the inning. No. 9 hitter, Curtis Mead, flipped a single that put runners at the corners with no outs. The Rays’ lineup bent back around and leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz hit a sacrifice fly that scored Taylor Walls and halved the Cardinals’ lead. By rule, Leahy had to face at least Diaz – the third batter of the inning – and with that over, Romero took over for his hitters, only in the seventh, not eighth.

Lowe, a left-handed hitter and Romero’s target, was part of the first-inning rally against Gibson. Two pitches into the game, the Rays had two base hits and two runners in scoring position. Lowe hit a first-pitch double off Gibson to set up Carlson’s first-pitch two-run, two-out single.

“They were all fastballs,” Gibson said. “They came out pretty aggressive to the heater in the zone and knowing I like to get ahead. In the first inning, maybe I used a lot of heaters. They did a good job of putting good swings on it. Still, pretty rare to get three first-pitch hits – let alone in the game, let alone in one inning. I try not to (let it) keep me from being aggressive in the zone.”

The pitch Lowe hit for a two-run homer of Romero was a first-pitch sinking fastball.

It was that matchup and that pitch that Marmol said he wanted.

The Rays’ No. 2 hitter, Lowe had been pinch-hit for earlier this season against lefties. In his career he slugs .451 against lefties with a .745 OPS. This season, he’s slugging .591 against lefties with a .974 OPS. Three of his 14 homers have now come against lefties. Marmol made a specific reference to Lowe’s success against lefty sinkers. This season, he’s slugged .409 against sinkers overall.

With the Cardinals’ available data “you wouldn’t question the sinker,” Marmol said. “That’s a really good pitch as far as what he’s been able to do against that pitch this year. Zero production. He took a really good swing. I’ll take JoJo and that matchup pretty much any night.”

This night it didn’t work.

Lowe jumped that first-pitch sinker and laced it to center field, clearing the wall and just soaring over center fielder Victor Scott II’s leaping attempt. That one swing shifted the look of a game otherwise defined by Nolan Arenado’s four times on base and sublime ability to read a bunt and turn it into a double play. That one swing recast what happened an inning earlier. Scott was dashing toward home for an easy additional run when Masyn Winn’s blistered line drive bounded over the wall for a rulebook double. Scott had to stop at third instead of easily scoring the Cardinals’ fifth run.

Simple math showed that was the difference between Lowe’s homer tying the game and Lowe’s homer taking the lead, the difference between a blown lead and a sudden loss.

“This is a frustrating one, man,” Marmol said. “I feel like we played a pretty clean game. Sometimes baseball just happens. Tonight was a little bit of that.”