ST. LOUIS -- Though Opening Weekend presented intrigue surrounding manager Oliver Marmol’s platonic ideal for how the back end of the Cardinals’ bullpen might function, the mid-week series against the Mets at Busch Stadium has probably reflected a more anticipated version of the blueprint.
The Rays series created an order of operations that subverted expectations, with newcomer Ryne Stanek lining up to pitch in the team’s first two save situations of the season. Incumbent members in the circle of trust -- JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien -- had already been exhausted to cover the setup innings of those games.
Marmol is a modern manager, consistently angling to attack matchup advantages over traditional late-inning assignments. Though Stanek was a veteran free-agent signing, the vibe seems to be that the Cardinals' skipper now manages a bullpen where some of the role-related, contract-influenced restraints on how the closer role operates are less pronounced.
With the score tied for the late-inning drama on Wednesday afternoon, Marmol deployed Stanek and Romero to set up O’Brien in the ninth, establishing a formidable trio that positions the Cards to thrive in those late-and-close scenarios from a pitching standpoint.
In the bottom of the 11th inning, they weren’t half bad from the clutch hitting perspective, either.
After taking his time to find his footing in the clean-up role during the season’s first week, Masyn Winn blooped a game-winning hit into the Bermuda triangle of shallow right field to send the Cardinals to a 2-1 walk-off win in 11 innings over the Mets in the rubber game.
“It wasn’t the best swing,” Winn said. “But I was just trying to get to first base, just in case.”
It was Winn’s first career walk-off RBI -- and potentially a catalyst to snapping the shortstop out of his slow start offensively (4-for-25).
“I think a swinging bunt was my first hit last year -- I think that’s what got me going,” Winn said. “So maybe it’s something like that. ... At some point, I’m going to get hot, for sure.”
Despite Winn’s recent struggles at the plate, Marmol was struck by the Gold Glover’s continued attention to detail on defense. The skipper highlighted Winn’s effort to track down a fifth-inning Mark Vientos double toward the left-field corner, sharing that the play was probably his favorite of the game.
“To be heads-up enough to be thinking the way he’s thinking right now,” Marmol said. “Those are the little details that we’re talking about that, when you do it over time, you end up winning more ballgames than you’re supposed to.”
Winn headlines a strong defensive identity of the club, which should coalesce with the type of shutdown pitching staff St. Louis aims to become.
Romero, in particular, shined in the series. On Wednesday, he covered the final out of the seventh for Stanek after Mets manager Carlos Mendoza deployed rookie Carson Benge as a pinch-hitter.
Then, Romero came back in the eighth and navigated the dangerous top third of New York’s lineup, setting down Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette in order for the second game in a row.
“You always accept a challenge, especially with a lineup like that,” Romero said. “Being able to come in and do your homework, have a game plan, and being able to see how that looks when you execute it, I think, gives us -- not just me, but our staff in general -- a lot of confidence.”
When you have reliable leverage relievers, the seventh, eighth and ninth innings are the ones for which you can generally anticipate the script. Extra innings force a manager to get comfortable with that which is anything but cozy -- but even that aspect of Wednesday’s win provided encouragement for Marmol.
Justin Bruihl handled a high-pressure spot in the top of the 10th, getting Soto to pop out to strand New York’s automatic runner.
Chris Roycroft was assigned the 11th, but walked a pair of batters after taking a comebacker -- to which Winn, naturally, reacted quickly to secure the out. So one day after Gordon Graceffo pulled off a Houdini act in his return to the Major Leagues, Marmol asked him to do that trick again.
Graceffo obliged, escaping a bases-loaded jam to set up Winn’s heroics in the bottom of the 11th.
“That’s a tough spot, when your name gets called,” Marmol said. “For him to come into the situation he did yesterday and then do that today was awesome.”
It’s been only one homestand (six games), but the bullpen could be rounding into a strength for the upstart Cardinals.