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PHILADELPHIA — All JoJo Romero wanted to do was crush some golf balls — just “try to hit the snot out of it,” he said — at Topgolf a week or so ago, and each and every time, the ball kept slicing on him. He reared back with the club for another attempt and felt his back hip snap forward as he connected and the ball soared.

“It was like — wait,” the Cardinals’ lefty said.

He put down the driver and picked up his right leg.

At Chesterfield’s Topgolf, Romero stopped playing and started pantomiming his pitching delivery until he felt that same snap of the back hip, that same catapult forward into his extension — and the baseball, if he had one.

“That’s where I found it,” Romero said. “Topgolf.”

Through the opening weeks of the season, the Cardinals’ leading lefty reliever felt a sag in fastball velocity. He averaged 94.2 mph on the fastball last season and 94.8 mph the year before, but there were pitches this season that left his fingers at 91 mph or 92 mph. He and the Cardinals’ pitching coaches explored the reasons for the inconsistency. It took hitting the snot out of a golf ball to give him direction, quite literally. And then he worked in the weight room to achieve it.

Romero described his goal as improving his “directional drive” — which is the timing and movement of his back hip to propel him forward as he extends to release the ball.

The results were zippy.

In the Cardinals’ Monday series opener in Philadelphia, he threw only two pitches — but one was a 93.2 mph fastball, up from his average this season. In his previous outing, he averaged 94.9 mph on his fastball, up almost 2 mph from his previous average for this season.

“He is very in tune with his body,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “His routine is pretty extensive that he does every day. It’s very impressive. When something is off, the process of Dusty (Blake) or somebody identifying it and making the adjustment is pretty good. They identified it, they attacked it in the weight room, and a couple of outings later, he’s holding 94-95. He’s capable of that.”

With the stabilized velocity, Romero’s performance has done the same. He’s got a hold in his first three appearances of this month, and the lefty has gone five appearances allowing one hit and without allowing a run. On Monday, the Cardinals set their relief plan around who they wanted Romero to face and then worked out from there, getting a pivotal 2 2/3 innings from right-hander Kyle Leahy. Romero secured his out for his fifth hold of the season.

It came against the team the Cardinals acquired Romero from the Phillies in a one-for-one swap that both teams could consider a win-win deal.

Near the trade deadline in 2022, the Cardinals sent infielder Edmundo Sosa to the Phillies for Romero. Sosa has thrived with Philadelphia. He contributed to the Phillies’ run for the National League pennant and World Series appearance in 2022 and is batting .340 with a .386 on-base percentage as a complementary player so far this season. A versatile fielder, Sosa has provided 4.5 wins above replacement (WAR) in four years with the Phillies.

Romero has given the Cardinals 1.4 WAR, though in a fickle, even volatile role.

Since 2023, when Romero became a factor for the Cardinals bullpen and had a cameo at closer, his 38 holds are the fourth-most by a lefty in the majors. The three lefties ahead of him have all been on at least two different teams. Romero is the one of the seven lefties with at least 34 holds to pitch for a single team.

“People would get pretty fatigued quickly with relievers because if they have a couple of weeks not going well, then they get super-frustrated,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “That’s the life of a reliever. It’s one of the toughest jobs. Especially in high-leverage. Because you have one bad game your really, really feel it. You have multiple bad games and it feels like the world is ending.”

The Phillies drafted Romero in the fourth round in 2016, and for most of his development, he was a starter. In 2019, he made 13 starts for the Phillies’ Class AAA affiliate. Romero spent 2020 at the alternate-site camp and debuted in the majors with a dozen relief appearances. When the Cardinals acquired him, there was no question of his role: They sought him because of the profile of his pitches and the fit in relief.

That gave him what the drive at Topgolf did.

Direction.

“I came in here and, OK, I’m a reliever, I got traded as a reliever, they’re going to use me as a reliever,” Romero said. “I’m going in with that mindset and figure it out. I was surrounded with veteran guys, and I was able to learn and find a routine. That helped everything.”

In the past three seasons, Romero has a 3.68 ERA in 108 appearances and 107 2/3 innings for the Cardinals. In high-leverage spots that influence the outcome of the game, Romero’s influence has increased their win probability by two wins in that span. And he could still shift the results of the swap with the Phillies if the Cardinals decide to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline and trade relievers like Romero. He has two years of control remaining with a salary rising through arbitration.

What’s made him available and often reliable in the role is “making adjustments whenever his stuff is not where it needs to be,” Marmol said.

Even if where he figures it is shifting from driver to windup at Topgolf.

“The luxury of being able to do that,” Marmol said of relying on Romero as a late-inning lefty. “That’s what good teams have.”

Prospect Robberse will miss year

The Cardinals’ depth at starting pitcher thinned again Wednesday when they moved prospect Sem Robberse to the full-season injured list and confirmed he would miss the entire season and more after requiring Tommy John surgery.

Robberse, 23, made four starts for Class AAA Memphis this season and had a 7.36 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings.

The reconstructive surgery on his right elbow could require a year of rehab.

The Cardinals acquired Robberse during the trade deadline fire sale in 2023, and the plan then was to accumulate pitching depth for the minor league system. The Cardinals may need to go shopping again soon to add pitching depth at their top affiliate. Robberse joins Cooper Hjerpe as two Cardinals Class AAA pitchers to have Tommy John surgery this season. Drew Rom has had difficulty overcoming shoulder soreness, and top pitching prospects Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews are both on the minor league injured list.

Mathews, who had a sore shoulder after a few starts for Memphis, is scheduled to return to game action this week with the Cardinals’ Florida Complex League club, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said.

The Cardinals’ concern for their pitching depth influenced their decision to keep Michael McGreevy in the Redbirds rotation and utilize Steven Matz in a swingman and spot-start role.

Robberse is on the Cardinals’ 40-player roster, and if they need a spot when that roster is full he can be moved to the 60-day injured list. The transaction Wednesday to move him to the full-season IL means he does not count against minor league roster limits.

One streak ends, another continues

Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber did not reach base in the first game of the doubleheader, ending one of the longest on-base streaks in Phillies history. Schwarber’s stretch of 47 consecutive games reaching base reached back to Sept. 23 of this past season. Schwarber went 0 for 4 in Philadelphia’s 2-1 victory Wednesday afternoon and that ended the fourth-longest on-base streak since 1900 in Phillies’ history.

Mike Schmidt has the Phillies record at 56 games.

Meanwhile, Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras walked and singled in the first game Wednesday to push his on-base streak to 25 games. That is one shy of his career best. His .455 on-base percentage during the run of reaching base is second-highest in the majors to Aaron Judge in the same span.

Helman claimed, etc.

The Cardinals opened a spot on their 40-player roster Wednesday when Pittsburgh claimed outfielder Michael Helman off waivers. The Cardinals added Helman ahead of spring training to give them coverage at shortstop and center field. Jose Barrero claimed that job, and the Cardinals recently waived Helman to create some space on the big league roster. In 18 games for the Triple-A Redbirds, Helman hit .185 with a .292 slugging percentage and one homer.

• The Cardinals recalled Matt Svanson from Class AAA Memphis to serve as the 27th player for both games of the doubleheader.
• Pedro Pages was “beat up” but fine after the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader, Marmol said. The catcher got hit by a couple of backswings and, in the decisive seventh inning, was part of contact at the plate that left him momentarily unsteady. He finished the game before getting the evening half of the doubleheader as a break.
• The Royals scratched Seth Lugo from his scheduled start Saturday against the Cardinals. Former Cardinals first-round pick and NLCS MVP Michael Wacha is set to start for KC on Sunday.