Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde speaks with the media on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, after a loss vs. the Mariners at Busch Stadium. (Video by Ethan Erickson, Post-Dispatch)
Cardinals trade-deadline acquisition and starting pitcher Erick Fedde found himself in relatively uncharted territory in more ways than one in his start Friday night against the Seattle Mariners.
Fedde entered the night having already thrown more innings this season than any of his previous seasons in the majors, and the series opener against the Mariners also marked his 28th start of the season. That’s also a single-season career-high for starts for the right-hander.
Against the Mariners, Fedde also had to navigate the lineup without his usual pitch mix.
Fedde, who is signed through next season, took the loss as the Cardinals fell 6-1 to the Mariners in front of an announced crowd of 37,476 at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals (71-70) have now lost their past four series openers and seven of their last eight openers.
They finished Friday night’s game with star third baseman Nolan Arenado coming out of the game in favor of pinch hitter Matt Carpenter. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Arenado came out of the game due to a shoulder ailment.
Arenado had one of the Cardinals’ five hits. The lone run came on a solo home run by outfielder Jordan Walker in the seventh inning.
Fedde (8-9) allowed just one run on five hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out a season-low one batter, and he didn’t complete five innings in a start for the first time in his seven starts with the Cardinals after being traded by the Chicago White Sox.
“I’m still feeling strong, “Fedde said of his workload reaching career highs. “I worked hard in the offseason preparing for these things. I think at the big-league level (this is) probably the most innings I’ve thrown, but that’s what you get paid to do and what you work hard for. Right now, I’m feeling strong still and I think everybody is feeling September.â€
Fedde admitted that two of the primary weapons in his pitch arsenal weren’t up to his typical standard in the outing. He characterized his cutter by saying it “wasn’t great and he doubled down on that description in reference to his sweeper.
As a result, Fedde leaned on his sinking fastball and his changeup more than usual. He threw the sinker 45% of time.
Overall this season, he’s thrown his sinker 30.2% of the time or slightly less than his cutter (32.2%). This season, Fedde has used his cutter more than any other pitch in his arsenal.
Despite having to partially flip his script, Fedde kept the Mariners at bay for the first four innings. He stranded five runners on base in the first three, including two apiece in the second and third innings. The Mariners (72-70) started the game 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
Fedde made it through the first four innings having thrown 71 pitches, but the Mariners forced him to throw another 24 just to get two outs in the fifth.
Fedde got Josh Rojas to ground out to start the fifth, but Fedde then hit Victor Robles on the arm with a pitch. Julio Rodriguez then reached on an infield single.
Fedde then walked Mariners power-hitting catcher Cal Raleigh, who has a team-high 29 home runs and 87 RBIs. That set the table for former Cardinal Randy Arozarena to loft a deep fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly to drive in the game’s first run.
With the left-handed hitting Luke Raley due up next and Cardinals left-handed reliever Matthew Liberatore warm in the bullpen, the Arozarena at-bat marked the end of the outing for Fedde. Liberatore got Raley to tap the ball back to the mound to end the inning.
“My stuff wasn’t great today,†Fedde said. “But when you have your B-stuff, your job is to compete and try to keep the team in the game. I’m obviously not happy with the outing. That puts a lot of pressure on the bullpen, but they did a good job of cleaning up the fifth. Then we were in a ballgame.â€
The Mariners increased their lead to 3-0 on a two-run home run by Dylan Moore off Liberatore in the sixth inning. The score remained that way until Walker’s home run in the seventh.
“He wasn’t as sharp as he probably would have liked, but he still competed extremely well,†Marmol said of Fedde. “He pitched with traffic, but he made pitches when needed, limited damage. His stuff wasn’t as crisp as we’ve seen it in the past, but still was able to navigate the lineup and give us a shot.
“We go to Libby there, and it’s tough to hit for him – in terms of the opposition — so we go to Libby and he gets his out. Unfortunately, Moore clips him. We kept it within a shot there for eight innings.â€
Marmol downplayed the idea of Fedde’s workload playing a part in his lack of crispness, and he cited the club’s move to a six-man rotation with Steven Matz having started a game in Milwaukee which pushed Fedde back until after Thursday’s day off on the schedule.
“I wouldn’t attribute this to (workload) completely,†Marmol said. “I mean, there is a reason we pushed him back and gave him the extra two days just to be fresh for this start. We’re aware of his workload. We’ll continue to monitor it, but I thought he still did a good job of competing.â€
Walker’s home run came after Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller (11-8) left the game. Miller tossed six scoreless innings and retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced. Miller allowed three hits and two walks.
The Mariners turned to right-handed reliever Troy Taylor in the seventh. After Brendan Donovan lined out and Lars Nootbaar grounded out, that brought Walker to the plate.
Taylor’s first pitch to Walker, a 96.7-mph fastball, sailed up and inside. Walker avoided getting hit by the pitch, and he calculated that Taylor would likely try to come back with a fastball for a strike.
When Taylor fired his fastball over the heart of the plate on the next pitch, Walker bashed it an estimated 405 feet.
That gave Walker, who spent most of this season with Triple-A Memphis due to struggles at the plate, his first home run at Busch Stadium since September 13, 2023.
“I think it’s just been a journey,†Walker said of his swing. “I think that I’m feeling a lot better with my swing than I was at the beginning, that’s definitely for sure. And right now, I think that my swing is fine. I just need to be more selective on what I really want to hit.â€
Walker’s blast pulled the Cardinals within two runs, 3-1, but the Mariners scored three runs in the top of the ninth against reliever Kyle Leahy.
Arenado injury update
When Arenado’s spot in the batting order came up in the bottom of the ninth, Carpenter entered the game as a pinch hitter.
“He took that one swing earlier and something grabbed at him, left shoulder,†Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He was starting to feel it a little bit as the game went on. He went out for defense. Came in around the seventh and got some work done on it, but to take another at-bat was going to be difficult regardless of score. So that’s why we hit for him there (in the ninth).â€
Upon review of the broadcast video from Arenado’s sixth-inning at-bat against Mariners starter Miller, it appears that Arenado may have felt the discomfort after he fouled off the first pitch of that at-bat. From that point on, he continued to fidget with his left arm, rotated it and stretching his chest between pitches. He lined out softly to second base to end the inning.
Arenado did have a ball hit to him in the seventh inning as well as in the ninth inning. He showed no noticeable effects fielding. The issue was with his non-throwing shoulder.
Marmol could not yet have an indication whether or not the shoulder might keep Arenado out of the lineup.
Kyle Gibson’s stellar outing on the mound set the tone, and his catcher Pedro Pages provided a much-needed big swing late.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals pitcher Erick Fedde (12) walks off the field after being taken out of the game after Seattle Mariners Randy Arozarena (56) hit a sacrifice fly scoring Victor Robles to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Busch Stadium. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals Jordan Walker hits a solo home run off Seattle Mariners pitcher Troy Taylor in the seventh inning on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Busch Stadium. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com