The Cardinals faced the Marlins Saturday as the road team at Roger Dean Stadium, opening up the Grapefruit League slate for 2019. The Cardinals came away with an 11-1 win in which they compiled 20 hits. Here were some of the notable storylines from the game:
The Cardinals started off Grapefruit League play in 2019 with a Kolten Wong fly out to left on the first pitch from former Cardinal, Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara, who was traded to Miami in the Marcell Ozuna deal, pitched two innings of scoreless baseball, striking out three against the Cardinals starters.
It was a solid, if uneventful day for the Cardinals’ planned Opening Day starter Miles Mikolas. He breezed through two scoreless innings with zeros across the board with one strikeout.
Jack Flaherty gave up a double to Lewis Brinson to open the third. Though he struggled for the Marlins last season, Brinson was a key piece in the trade that sent Christian Yelich to Milwaukee last winter. Brinson ultimately stole third base and came around to score on a single by Miguel Rojas.
Mike Shildt said he felt Flaherty had a little trouble getting into a rhythm Saturday. Ideally slated to throw two innings, Flaherty left after just one due to pitch count.
The first hit of the spring came in the form of a sharp single past the shortstop by Harrison Bader. Shortly after, he was thrown out as part of an unusual 7-6-3 double play after straying too far from first on an out in the air. Gyorko added a bloop RBI single later to provide some veteran contribution offensively, but otherwise, it was all about the young players showing out Saturday.
Ramon Urias highlighted a five-run fifth for the Cardinals with a towering fly ball that cleared the left field wall for a three-run home run. Urias, 24, is an infielder who slashed .261/.291/.430 for Memphis last season. He finished the day 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs.
Max Schrock also enjoyed a productive day at the dish, going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.
Andrew Knizner had a strong day at the plate and behind it, starting at catcher and staying in the game long enough to take four plate appearances, in which he went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
Ryan Helsley provided the ‘wow’ factor out of the bullpen, touching triple digits on the stadium gun and impressing with off-speed pitches. Helsley was touted by John Mozeliak as a prospect to watch at the 2018 Winter Warm-Up before injuries derailed the season for the now 24-year-old right-hander. Helsley sure looked healthy Saturday, striking out three batters across two scoreless, hitless innings.
Left-handed reliever Tommy Layne also enjoyed a nice afternoon, striking out the side in his one inning of work. Not a bad start to the spring for the Fort Zumwalt South product looking to make his mark with his hometown team. Layne, 33, held a microscopic 1.24 ERA with the Memphis Redbirds in 2018; he’s appeared in 216 MLB games across stints with the Padres, Red Sox and Yankees.
The Cardinals will continue spring training action Sunday by hosting the Washington Nationals. The first pitch at Roger Dean Stadium is scheduled for 12:05. Sunday’s game can be heard on KTLO-AM. Coverage begins at 11:45.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI