Looking back at what worked when forming a starting battery for the first time with starter Miles Mikolas on June 5 in Houston, Cardinals rookie Pedro Pages recalls what the right-hander said to him the day before the two took the field at Minute Maid Park and what it did for his confidence.
“He came up to me right before that start and looked at me in my eyes and goes, ‘I want you to call pitches from your heart and just go with it,’†Pages, 25, said Tuesday at Busch Stadium. “‘Go with your gut, and we’re going to just go out there and play this. If anything happens, we’ll work on it together. It’s fine. Just call your pitches. Call your game.’â€
In his sixth start behind the plate as a major leaguer, Pages helped navigate six innings of two-run baseball from Mikolas and aided the back end of ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ bullpen to combine for three scoreless innings of relief in a win that prevented a sweep at the hands of Houston.
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“He (Mikolas) trusted me in that, and that meant a lot to me,†Pages said.
Pages helped Mikolas earn his seventh quality start of the year and made the case for the rookie to get another chance to catch the 35-year-old on Tuesday in the Cardinals’ series opener against the Pirates. Tuesday’s start marked Pages’ second in as many games as he serves as the backup to fellow rookie Ivan Herrera — a role in which he feels he is finding his footing.
“It’s just something I had to work on mentally and physically in just finding a way of staying prepared, no matter if I don’t play a couple of days,†Pages said.
To help him navigate this new role in his rookie season, Pages said he’s talked with those closest to him. That includes his hitting coach back home in Miami, close friends, his brother and his dad, Edgar. That group has helped him find a balance on the mental side.
He’s put a bigger emphasis on taking batting practice off a pitching machine — something he said he wasn’t a focus of his in previous years — to maintain his timing and plate vision.
“It’s been something hard, but I’ve been getting better at it,†said Pages, who entered Tuesday with two hits in 22 at-bats across 12 big league games.
During his conversations with his personal hitting coach, Pages was reminded of a similar process he went through during the 2022 season when he reached Class AAA Memphis that June.
For most of his time in Class AAA that season, Pages was one of three catchers in a mix that included Herrera, former farmhand Austin Allen and former big leaguer Austin Romine. Pages played in 44 games with Memphis before heading to the Arizona Fall League before he broke out the following season by showing defensive improvements and posting an .806 on-base plus slugging percentage in 117 Class AA games in 2023.
The similar setting has given him a foundation for this season.
“I went back to those thoughts, and I was like: OK, I just have to simplify everything,†said Pages, who earned 40-man status and protection from the Rule 5 draft this past offseason. “... Ever since I started thinking that way, instead of trying to feel like, oh I need to get a hit, oh I need to do this — it’s like just go out there compete. Have a good at-bat, and the results will come. It’s been a better feeling for sure.â€
Contreras eyeing late June rehab
Cardinals starting catcher Willson Contreras hopes to begin a rehab assignment by the last two weeks of June, the Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold reported.
Contreras, who has been on the injured list since May 7 after fracturing his left arm, caught a bullpen session from rehabbing reliever Nick Robertson and continued his hitting progression with soft toss.
The Cardinals’ starting catcher hopes to return by the start of July. Although Contreras has previously expressed optimism about returning ahead of the All-Star break, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol previously said the timeline of Contreras’ return will depend on how the 32-year-old responds to his ramp-up and what doctors say.
Edman takes on-field BP
On Tuesday, center fielder Tommy Edman took on-field batting practice with his teammates for the first time since he underwent offseason surgery on his right wrist. All of Edman’s swings came as a right-handed hitter.
Edman said the session went well. He did not have a timeline for when he could play in a game.
On Saturday, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told attendees of the Cardinals’ annual “Blogger Day†that the center fielder and former Gold Glove winner is expected to return before the end of this month.
Springfield rehabbers
Steven Matz, Giovanny Gallegos and Riley O’Brien all continued to rehab their respective injuries on Tuesday with Class AA Springfield (Missouri).
Matz (lower back) completed 1â…” innings on 35 pitches and allowed five unearned runs before his exit.
Gallegos (right shoulder) completed 1⅓ scoreless innings of relief on 25 pitches. Marmol said the next steps for Gallegos’ rehab would be decided after his latest relief appearance.
O’Brien (forearm flexor strain) threw live batting practice to Springfield hitters. He could begin a rehab assignment in the coming week barring any setbacks.
Extra bases
- Left-hander Packy Naughton was activated from the injured list and added to Class AAA Memphis’ roster. The reliever had been sidelined since last April after undergoing forearm surgery.
- Right-hander Keynan Middleton underwent season-ending forearm surgery on Tuesday.
- Cardinals prospect Cooper Hjerpe, the Cardinals’ first-round pick from the 2022 draft, was promoted from Class High-A to Class AA.