51ºÚÁÏ

As he looks to reassert himself as a productive part of the rotation, some early signs are looking up for Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas.

Mikolas starts Monday as the Cardinals welcome the Pirates for a 6:45 p.m. start in the first of three at Busch Stadium.

51ºÚÁÏ swept a doubleheader on Sunday vs. the Mets to take two of three in the series.

Last season, his 5.35 ERA was second-worst among qualified pitchers across baseball. This season, things went south quickly. In his second start, Mikolas was blasted in Boston, giving up eight earned runs while not making it out of the third inning.

In the four starts since, however, Mikolas has put up a 2.14 ERA.

His slider, which acts like a cutter when he throws it higher in the zone, has been a big part of the strides he has made.

Opponents are hitting .222 off the slider, down from .301 a year ago.

It ranks in the top quarter of baseball in run value after sitting in the bottom 15% in 2024.

Overall, Mikolas' expected batting average, based on quality of contact, is down 10 points from last season to .268.

The Pirates will counter Monday with right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3, 6.58). He has permitted more than one run in all but one of his six starts this season. The one-run outing came vs. the Cardinals a month ago in Pittsburgh.

Jose Barrero gets the start at shortstop a day after Masyn Winn left the game with an injury to his ankle. Winn remains on the active roster.

The Cardinals are 16-19, five games out of first in the NL Central.

The Pirates are 12-23, the second-worst record in the National League. They have lost four straight.

Graceffo called up

Before the game, the Cardinals sent right-hander Michael McGreevy back to Triple-A Memphis and called up righty Gordon Graceffo from Memphis. Righty Roddery Munoz, the 27th man in Sunday's doubleheader, was also returned to Memphis.

Lineups

CARDINALS

1. Lars Nootbaar, RF

2. Alec Burleson, DH

3. Brendan Donovan, LF

4. Nolan Arenado, 3B

5. Willson Contreras, 1B

6. Nolan Gorman, 2B

7. Pedro Pagés, C

8. Victor Scott II, CF

9. Jose Barrero, SS

P: Miles Mikolas, RHP

PIRATES

1. Oneil Cruz, CF

2. Bryan Reynolds, RF

3. Andrew McCutchen, DH

4. Joey Bart, C

5. Enmanuel Valdez, 1B

6. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B

7. Adam Frazier, 2B

8. Tommy Pham, LF

9. Jared Triolo, SS

P:  Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP

Injury report

Ivan Herrera, C (bone bruise): A day after beginning his rehab assignment with a start at designated hitter for Class AAA Memphis, Herrera caught five innings for Memphis on Friday and collected two hits in three at-bats. Herrera is scheduled to be Memphis’s designated hitter Saturday as he continues his build-up. The Cardinals will look to have Herrera catch a full nine innings during his rehab assignment and potentially catch in back-to-back games before he is activated. How Herrera responds will factor in determining when he will be activated. Updated May 2

Zack Thompson, LHP (lat strain): Lefty is making steady strides on his throwing program back in Jupiter, Florida, but he's not yet advanced to the schedule that will resemble spring training. He is in the strengthening part of his rehab and has yet to throw a baseball as part of that. Repeated exams of the torn labrum that halted his spring training did not show any setback to delayed Thompson's scheduled move to the injured list. On April 7, Thompson was transferred to the 60-day IL. Updated May 1