This weekend the St. Louis Cardinals will be getting back two major rotation pieces that have been missing for some time.
Carlos Martinez
Tonight, with the Chicago Cubs in town, flamethrower Carlos Martinez will come off the injured list for the Cardinals and make his first start since May 8. Martinez struggled at the beginning of the year, starting off 0-3 with an ERA of 7.80, but since then, he has re-established himself as a cornerstone of the Cards rotation, going 3-1 with a 2.95 ERA over four starts and 21 and 1/3 innings. This has been Martinez’ first full year in the big league rotation since 2017. Injuries derailed his trajectory in 2018, and upon returning from his third trip to the IL, he was moved to the bullpen. In 2019, he served as the teams’ closer. Last year, his season was derailed by a bout with COVID-19 and other injuries, as he went 0-3 with an ERA just below 10.
Miles Mikolas
On Saturday night, the Cardinals will also welcome back Miles Mikolas, who hasn’t started a game for them since Game 1 of the 2019 NLCS against the Nationals. He missed all of 2020 recovering from surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm, and was further compromised by a strained right shoulder in Spring Training this year. But at long last, he will return to a major league mound.
Mikolas was brought in prior to 2018 and was the Cards most dependable starter that year, going 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA. Though still reliable, he took a step back in 2019, finishing 9-14 with an ERA of 4.16, though he pitched more akin to his 2018 self in the postseason, allowing just one run in each of his two starts (5 innings in Game 1 of the NLDS vs. the Braves, 6 innings vs. the Nationals in Game 1 of the NLCS), and even through a scoreless inning during a relief appearance during Game 4 of the NLDS, earning his first postseason win in the process.
The Cardinals hope he can regain that form upon his return, to solidify an already strong rotation buoyed by Jack Flaherty’s 8-0 start. If all goes according to plan, the Cardinals will have four established starters in Flaherty, Mikolas, Martinez, and Adam Wainwright, and lefty Kwang-Hyun Kim, who is also off to a solid start. This should help the Cardinals rotation cement its place among the best in all of baseball.
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