Entering the week, this was the snap shot of Cardinals’ pitching: Three rookies were set to start in the four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and most of the relievers didn't seem ready for high-leverage work.
That was not ideal for a team with postseason aspirations.
But the picture started changing Monday. First, Jack Flaherty convinced manager Oliver Marmol to give him Wednesday’s start against the Pirates.
Flaherty believed that ramping up his intensity in a major league game would benefit him more than building his pitch count in Triple-A. “Physically he feels better than he’s ever felt so he’d rather increase the intensity than the workload, that’s what we’ll do,” Marmol said.