HOUSTON — A contributing factor why lefty JoJo Romero pitched an eighth inning that immediately went sideways on the Cardinals was not just the workload heaped on his fellow relievers but two pitchers who weren’t at the ballpark at all.
Asked to navigate a run of right-handed batters, two of whom hit decisive home runs off of him, Romero misplaced a one-run lead in the eighth inning and allowed Houston the runs that became a 7-4 victory at Minute Maid Park. The most experienced reliever of any handedness available other than closer Ryan Helsley, Romero drew the assignment in a spot that otherwise would have gone to the alternate right-handed setup man. If the Cardinals had that alternate.
One spent hours under the scrutiny of a doctor in New York on Monday.
The other resumes his rehab assignment Tuesday with Memphis.
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Keynan Middleton and Giovanny Gallegos, respectively, remain on the injured list and not on hand for a situation they were signed to cover. Their absences are catching up to the Cardinals.
“Bullpen has been really good and some of these guys are going to have nights like that,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “Can’t blame them for that. They’ve competed extremely well. JoJo has been extremely good for us. Had a tough night.”
The burst in the eighth inning Monday came at the confluence of close games, leftover innings, an inning-prolonging error, and injuries to the two relievers the Cardinals expected to hold some late innings together. Gallegos (shoulder) is scheduled to throw his second rehab inning Tuesday, the same day Middleton (forearm strain, elbow soreness) expects clarity on his recovery after a setback. He met with a specialist Monday to review options and discuss whether surgery will be necessary. Those injuries offer a subplot and a potential pothole for a bullpen that has been a strength – one flexed often.
A day after the bullpen pitched six scoreless innings to outlast Philadelphia for an extra-inning victory, Marmol had Romero, Andrew Kittredge, and Helsley available to hold a close game in Houston. It’s a trio – rookie shortstop Masyn Winn calls them the “three-headed monster” – that has brought the Cardinals back to the brink of .500.
The Cardinals, who are below average in overall bullpen usage, are among the league-leaders when it comes to holding close games or pitching in high-leverage spots. The bullpen tops the National League with 44 holds as a group. Kittredge collected his 16th save of the season to move back within the top three. Romero, who has 28 appearances in 58 games, was aiming to earn his 19th hold – which would lead the majors.
The game never got to Helsley.
“When you play as many close ballgames as we’ve played, you’re constantly making sure you keep 162 in mind,” Marmol said. “Trust me, you want to win every single game. At the same time, you want to make sure you’re doing it with the guys – these guys – all the way through. And you respect their health and their career as well. On a night like tonight, Kittredge, JoJo – those guys are ready. Helsley would have had the ninth. (Ryan) Fernandez was down based on his workload. We’re left with JoJo going through the lane of righties and he’s been fine against (them).
“A couple of pitches over the plate changes the game.”
The choice for Marmol was when and in what order to deploy Kittredge and Romero if they had a chance to secure a win. Two home runs by Nolan Gorman off Justin Verlander and a third homer by Alec Burleson built the lead the bullpen had the protect. The relief decisions started in the sixth when the Cardinals first counted on starter Kyle Gibson to complete the inning. With Kittredge ready for the seventh, Gibson faced Jon Singleton with two on and two outs.
Houston had just pulled within a run on a groundball that slipped between two diving infielders for an RBI single.
“After a couple of balls leaked through there … just missed with a fastball in,” Gibson said, detailing how he approached Singleton. “And then I think I was getting tired. Missed with a couple of cutters away that I really hadn’t missed with most of the night. And in that situation, not that I’m pitching around him, but I’m trying to execute a really good changeup there at the bottom. I hadn’t really thrown too many changeups. Maybe I said ‘yes’ to a pitch I shouldn’t have thrown.
“Thought he was going to try and be aggressive,” Gibson concluded. “So I tried to throw a pitch off those cutter and he just didn’t swing.”
Singleton took his walk.
Kittredge took Gibson’s place.
Kittredge into the game at that point to face the wraparound to leadoff hitter Altuve set up Romero to enter when Yordan Alvarez, one of the best left-handed hitters in the game, came to the plate. Kittredge got a groundball that would have ended the seventh with Alvarez on deck. Gorman misplayed it to put the tying run on base. Enter Romero.
He struck out Alvarez to preserve the lead through seven innings.
The lefty had allowed two home runs total in his previous 65 2/3 innings – a span that reaches all the back to the start of the 2023 season. This season, right-handed batters have hit .200 against Romero with a .308 slugging percentage. (Lefties, for context, are slugging .167 against him and have struck out 13 times in 36 at-bats.) The Astros had right-handed bats like Jose Abreu lurking on their bench, and Marmol’s stance was “if a righty was coming off the bench, it was going to be against JoJo.”
By the time that righty did, the game was tied.
All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman led off the eighth against Romero and brought his struggles into the batter’s box. This season, the right handed-hitting Bregman has batted only .173 against lefties with a .267 slugging percentage. He puts the ball in play against lefties, just not heartily. On the seventh pitch of his at-bat against Romero, the Cardinals’ lefty floated a changeup that Bregman drilled into the seats above left field. Four batters later, Yainer Diaz shattered the 4-4 tie when he launched a slider into the Crawford Boxes.
That run of right-handed batters in the eighth likely would have been Kittredge’s if Fernandez had been available as the sixth-inning solution. A refresh for the bullpen is possible at some spots following Monday’s loss, but during it Marmol also had rookie right-handers Kyle Leahy and Ryan Loutos available. The manager said he preferred Romero’s seasoning in that tight spot.
But it’s exactly the spot Gallegos has taken in recent years.
It’s ideally the spot the Cardinals envisioned Middleton owning.
They are unsure when or if Middleton will be able to throw a pitch for them this season. When Gallegos returns, the Cardinals hope that a healthy shoulder leads to more effectiveness. That would allow them to position Gallegos with Kittredge and Fernandez as an alternative for innings like Monday’s or days one or neither is available.
Depth always makes for easier decisions.
Whether that’s depth provided by the starter plunging later into games or depth provided by a roster that, even when challenged by injury, can be reworked to offer options when the “three-headed monster” is winded and needs what it’s so often provided – relief.
“Get some rest,” Marmol said, “and go back at it.”
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