What a night for the kids!!! That’s what this recap is gonna be about, cus nobody wants the entire story for a 10-1 thumping.
Mikolas stayed in his early season groove, cursing thru 7IP, giving up 4 hits, 1ER, 1bb/ 3k, on 98 pitches (69 strikes, nice!!!).
The real story of the night is Juan Yepez, Brendan Donovan, Jake Walsh, & Kramer Robertson all contributing in some fashion or another.
Yepez would blast his 1st HR at Busch Stadium (2nd career) with his family and Kyle in attendance, talk about clockwork. Yepez would smoke a Watkins center-cut slider to the O’s pen to open the 2nd to make it 1-0 (103.7mph exit velocity, 412 feet).
5 batters later, Brendan Donovan would drive in a couple of his own, sending a double into the RCF gap to score Yadi and Dickerson to extend the early Cardinals lead to 3-0.
Donovan would reach base all four plate appearances he had, picking up a pair of walks after his 2-run 2B and adding his second 2B of the game in the 8th, this time sending it the opposite way and almost out of the park to LCF. Donovan would also score two runs tonight, really making his mark on the game.
Jake Walsh, called up today for Kodi Whitley, would make his debut in the 8th, working the final 2 frames. And boyyyyy, was he filthy. If you’ve read Kyle’s write up, or watched the gifs, you already know how legit the curveball is off of his mid 90’s heater. Walsh would rack up 4k’s in his 2IP, ironically enough, all on that hammer curve he possesses. I mean it was making people look foolish, what an electric debut for the 16th rounder.
Kramer Robertson would end the night pinch-hitting for Goldy and driving in Donovan on a groundout to Odor at second for his 1st career major-league rbi, making it a 10-1 Cardinals lead and eventual winner.
Quick turnaround tomorrow afternoon, as Jordan Hicks (1-2, 3.78) makes the start vs TBA. It’ll more than likely be a bullpen day for the Orioles, I’d suspect Baker or Akin to start things off. First pitch tomorrow afternoon is scheduled for 12:15pm c/t.
Cheers, Stew