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Cardinals Officially Eliminated as Right-Hander Uncharacteristically Struggles in Ugly Loss
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- Cardinals Officially Eliminated as Right-Hander Uncharacteristically Struggles in Ugly Loss
Manager Oli Marmol discusses his Cardinals losing 9-1 to the Nationals — a defeat that officially eliminated St. Louis .
Kyle Leahy 's 2026 season, his first as a full-time starterat the MLB level for the St. Louis Cardinals, could easily be broken apart intotwo drastically different segments before Friday's final outing at BuschStadium.
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Over Leahy's first 14 starts, when he was still adapting toa starter's workload and the challenge of navigating a lineup a third time, hewent just 5-4 and posted a forgettable 4.63 ERA in 70 innings of work.
Then, in late June, something seemed to click for the29-year-old right-hander known for his expansive preparation tactics. OverLeahy's next 14 starters, he racked up an impressive 5-0 record, a sparkling1.94 ERA and a 12-start stretch where he allowed two or fewer runs – something thatput him in the company of Cardinals' legends Adam Wainwright and Bob Gibson.
What changed for the 6-foot-5 right-hander who features sixpitches? Manager Oliver Marmol, who resisted the cries to move Leahy back tothe bullpen when he was initially struggling as a starter, pointed to patienceand the pitcher's smarts.
"His preparation is incredibly impressive, and his aptitudeis through the roof," Marmol said of Leahy, who was hit hard in anotherabbreviated outing on Friday when the Cardinals lost to the Nationals 9-1 atBusch Stadium. "His self-evaluation is as raw, direct and productive as youwould want in a player. There's nothing you're going to be able to tell himthat he hasn't already told himself. When you combine all those things, it putshim in the best position to take real strides forward.
"We always believed he was capable of doing what he's doneover the second half. Even when he was going through (early-season struggles)there were other (metrics) that were pointing in the right direction that gaveyou confidence to stay the course – even where there were people on the outsidewho disagreed. … I'm glad we stayed the course."
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With Friday's loss, the Cardinals were officially eliminated from Wild Card contention.
Suffering his first loss since a July 17 start at BuschStadium against the Padres, Leahy showed the ill-effects of the Cardinalslimiting his innings of late. He left far too many balls up in the zone andultimately surrendered five hits, six earned runs, three walks and a homer to Natsrising start Dylan Crews in a forgettable outing.
The Cardinals have worked to limit Leahy's workload formuch of the past month with him having never pitched more than 88 innings atthe MLB level before this season. His 29th start on Friday left himat 138 innings worked so far this season.
Rookie left-hander Cooper Hjerpe, who has been used in a "piggyback"role with Leahy over the last two weeks to purposefully reduce the latter's workload,pitched well in relief. Hjerpe had an MLB debut for the ages on Sept. 6 when hepitched four perfect innings and struck out six. However, his next outing onSept. 13 saw him surrender four walks, two hit batters, two hits and fourearned runs in an inning-plus of work against the White Sox .
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The lefty with the herky-jerky throwing motion and thelowered arm slot found a happy medium on Friday night against the Nationals.This time around, he walked just two and struck out three in a four-inningouting with two earned runs allowed.
