51ºÚÁÏ

Adamo redirected the man to where he needed to go. He waved and smiled at the regulars who look for him at every home game.

Even at 91 years old, Adamo exudes energy, warmth and an unshakable work ethic. He’s become an unofficial mayor at the stadium, a steadfast guardian of the MLB umpires and a familiar face for players and frequent visitors.

On this particular Sunday, Adamo arrived at the stadium at 3:45 p.m. to work the Cardinals night game against the Chicago Cubs. A rain delay meant he would be getting back to his home in Weldon Spring later than usual.

“Hoping to leave by midnight if everything goes all right,� he says, strolling the maze of hallways through the restaurant and media room, past security and back to his station.

“You weren’t at your normal perch,� a co-worker says, as he walked by. “I missed you.�

Even when he’s gone for a few moments, people notice.

Adamo thought working as an usher at the stadium would be a fun retirement gig. Now, he’s been a fixture at the Cardinals home games for 27 seasons. He takes the responsibility of his position very seriously.

“I watch the door. I have the key,� he says. “I have to keep my eye on this sensitive area.�

This may be his final season. It’s getting harder for him to wake up for Mass at 8 a.m. after getting home at midnight or later the day before.

His goal this season was to make it to every single game, but a recent fall has landed him on the injured list.

Still, he’s not willing to call it quits just yet.

Finding a way back to downtown

Adamo was born in 51ºÚÁÏ at Missouri Baptist Hospital and grew up in a tight-knit Sicilian community near what is now the Dome at America’s Center. His parents emigrated from Sicily. They worshiped at Our Lady, Help of Christians, where priests spoke Italian and the nuns came from Italy.

He attended CBC High School in Clayton, then 51ºÚÁÏ University, and he joined the ROTC program. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and later a graduate degree in management and finance from SLU. He also served in the U.S. Air Force for three years.

Adamo joined McDonnell Aircraft in 1959 and stayed for 40 years, eventually working under Boeing after the merger. He met Kathleen, an Irish young woman, through work and reconnected with her on a flight. She had left McDonnell to become a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines.

“We got reacquainted,� he says. They married in 1977. When Adamo retired from McDonnell in 1999, he and Kathleen bought season tickets for their beloved hometown team.

One of his friends mentioned that they were hiring at the ballpark.

“I was always at the games, and he knew I needed something to do,� Adamo said.

He was offered a job in guest services. The first year Adamo worked all positions as an usher, but he soon found his spot with the umpires. There are 81 home games a year, and he tries not to miss a single one.

He and his wife were married for 43 years before she died in 2020.

Connecting with the umps

After he retired, the Adamos had bought a place in Florida, where they spent the winters. Vito would head down there as soon as the season ended. In 2011, the Cardinals were 10 and a half games out of a playoff spot in late August. Adamo packed up and headed to Florida to join his wife.

The team defied the odds and through a dramatic last-day wild-card clinch, they made the playoffs. Adamo flew back to 51ºÚÁÏ to work the games.

Rich Rieker, an MLB umpire for 10 years and now senior director of umpire development, never let Adamo forget that early departure. He’s teased him about it for the past 15 years.

“He was always there with a smile,� Rieker says. Several umpires described Adamo as a welcome sight since they travel six to seven months out of the year. Being greeted by him outside their locker room was a familiar and friendly way to start the night.

“We knew Vito would be there,â€� Rieker says.Ìý

Ron Kulpa, an MLB umpire originally from 51ºÚÁÏ, says he enjoys seeing the love Adamo brings to his job. When Kulpa meets former umpires in other cities, they tell him to give their regards to Vito.

“That’s how special he is to all of us,� Kulpa says. He makes sure to take care of the umpires’ families when they come to games and he ensures the umpires get to the locker room safely. Then, he tells them when it’s time to get on the field, and he’s there to walk them off the field.

“It’s a blessing to see him every time we come to a series in 51ºÚÁÏ,â€� Kulpa says.

Matt Gifford, vice president of stadium operations, has known Adamo for as long as he’s worked there.

“He has a passion for his responsibility,� Gifford says. “My guess is that most people don’t know how old he is because of how vibrant he is.�

Super aging

For much of the 20th century, aging implied cognitive and physical decline.

“There was a time in the early 1900s when we thought the only pathway to aging was to get old and get senile,� says Emily Rogalski, professor of neurology and director of the Healthy Aging & Alzheimer’s Research Center at the University of Chicago. Over time, researchers realized that dementia and changes in cognition were abnormal aging.

Rogalski studies super agers — people over 80 whose memory performance rivals that of someone 20 or 30 years younger.

These are people like Betty White, who defy expectations of aging. Twenty years ago, she began studying people who were living long and living well. They wanted to see what factors super agers have in common. Super agers often show physical differences in their brains. Their cortex — the outer layer — looks more like that of a 50-year-old, she says. A certain type of neuron is more abundant in their brain.

Lifestyle factors are harder to study. But most super agers endorse better social connections and mental engagement than their peers.

“Social interaction is really great for our brain because it’s unpredictable,� she says.

For 27 years, Adamo has spent his days greeting players, chatting with umpires, exchanging friendly chatter with security staff and visitors. These thousands of small, spontaneous conversations are like thousands of mental workouts.

He attributes his longevity to his Italian heritage.

“Working down at the ballpark has been a great fun job,â€� Adamo says. He enjoys working with all the young people. They keep him in the loop and look after him in subtle ways.Ìý

Two of his coworkers walk him to his car every night.

“Like I’m the old man, and they have to make sure I am all set before I head home,� he says, with a laugh.

It’s rare to continue working (and living) into one’s 90s. A Business Insider analysis of U.S. Census data found that about 36,000 people ages 90 and older work at least part-time. The most recent Census population estimates show that there are 2,485,692 people in the country who are 90 years and older, so approximately 1.4 percent of this age group is still working.

Adamo is part of a small but mighty sliver of the workforce.

Back to rehab

For all his vitality, Adamo has experienced some health challenges. About six years ago, he noticed he was having difficulty walking from the parking lot to the stadium. He was getting so tired while walking. He was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and needed a heart valve replacement.

“I’ve got this new valve, and I’ve been doing fine for the past five years or so,� he says.

He even works the concerts at the stadium and drives himself to and from work.

Last October, he moved into a senior living community, New Perspective in Weldon Spring. He looked for a place right off the highway to make his commute easier.

Kelly Gano, executive director at New Perspective, said when she met him, he was worried about getting to work.

“He was 90, and he was concerned about driving himself to and from the stadium at 1 a.m. after a game. That tells you everything about his sense of purpose.�

She said he’s pretty popular in the retirement community. Before one of his concert gigs, she asked him what he knew about Post Malone.

“I know some of his music,� he says.

He even signed up for physical therapy to work on his “bum knee,� so he could walk without a cane and work on his balance.

But recently, he suffered a frightening fall. On a Monday, he slipped getting out of his bed. He fell on the floor away from his phone and away from the cord that he could have pulled to alert the staff.

He lay on the floor for more than two days. By Thursday, the cleaning staff found him. He was taken to the hospital, where he stayed for five days until they transferred him to in-patient rehab.

“I’m OK. I didn’t break anything,� he says. He admits that he’s pretty bruised up but minimizes it. “I’m in no pain. I’m feeling fine.�

His plan is to regain his strength in rehab. He missed his first Cardinals game of the season after his fall.

When asked if he thinks he might recover quickly enough to come back to the stadium before the season ends, he hesitates for a second and says, “Maybe so. Hopefully.�

Then, he brushes his own doubts aside.

“Yes, yes,� he says.

He plans on making a comeback.

Ìý

What the pair of 23-year-old Cardinals did Thursday provided a glimpse at the potential Saggese described.

In the seventh inning of a game tied 1-1 vs. the Pirates, Thomas Saggese belted a double off the base of the wall in center field to score Masyn Winn after Winn walked to lead off the frame. On the very next pitch, Walker pulled a sweeper from Pirates reliever Yohan Ramirez over the wall in center field for a two-run homer to help power the Cardinals to a 4-1 win at Busch Stadium.

“For us to come through like that, it’s cool to see because we’re constantly discussing that we can do this,� Saggese said. “It’s definitely a big confidence boost.�

Saggese’s and Walker’s RBI hits lifted the Cardinals to a lead after starter Miles Mikolas allowed one run over five innings and reliever Kyle Leahy completed two scoreless innings of relief and struck out four batters.

Riley O’Brien notched a hold in the eighth inning, and JoJo Romero successfully converted his fifth save of the season to secure the Cardinals a series split in a four-game set against the Pirates.

For Saggese, the RBI on his seventh-inning double marked his first go-ahead RBI in the seventh inning or later in a big league game. For Walker, the home run was his first since Aug. 8.

“It’s wonderful,� Walker said of his and Saggese’s back-to-back RBIs. “(Saggese) made my job a little bit easier. Tied ball game, man on first base and we’re not even up yet — him going to that backside double was super-huge for us. We’re already up, we already have a lead — my job has been made a whole lot simpler now. I’ve got to put the ball in play and move him over, preferably something in the air. That kind of was the mentality, and it happened to go over the fence.�

For two of the youngest hitters on the Cardinals roster, the clutch hits provided moments of growth.

As he looks to cut down on his chase rate, Saggese showed progress Wednesday night with a pair of walks in a game where he was hitless.

He began his showing at the plate on Thursday by taking two pitches for balls from Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft before singling to left field on the fourth pitch of the at-bat. In his second at-bat against Ashcraft, Saggese chased two pitches out of the strike zone before grounding out on a ball that had a 106.4 mph, per Statcast.

Once he stepped to the plate with the game’s potential go-ahead run on base, he looked for something he could “drive.�

“I was just trying to be on the fastball, ready to hit,� Saggese said.

On an 0-1 fastball Ramirez placed at the top of the strike zone, Saggese produced a drive with a 103 mph exit velocity that would allow Winn to score from first base.

“He took a good swing for the single and then stayed on that one to right-center. A big double,� Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said of Saggese. “Yesterday, he was patient, took his walks. ... Today, swung the bat really well, and that’s the progression you’re hoping for is he continues to shrink the strike zone, make better decisions and get rewarded for it. Today was a good day for it.�

Walker entered Thursday hitless in his previous six at-bats. The hitless stretch grew to seven consecutive at-bats after he struck out swinging as Ashcraft attacked him with a heavy dose of sliders in the second inning. It reached eight consecutive at-bats in the fifth inning when Walker flew out to left field on a ball he hit with a 101.9 mph exit velocity.

During his at-bat in the seventh inning, Walker swung at an 0-0 sweeper Ramirez located on the outer half of the plate against him and sent it 404 feet. The home run had an exit velocity of 103.8 mph.

Walker described the moment as “luck,� considering he was looking for a fastball from Ramirez but saw the sweeper stay over the middle of the strike zone.

The home run provided Walker a reminder of what he needs to do to improve on attacking pitches thrown on the outside corner to him.

“I think today, I told myself: Now that I know I can (cover the outside corner), now I just need to replicate it and not pull off the ball or cheat so much,� Walker said. “Because ... I just know, for myself, I’m strong enough to do that. But now I have to work on the consistency of staying there and keeping my bat there.�

The two-run homer provided a glimpse of the step forward the Cardinals are looking for from Walker.

“You’re hoping Jordan continues to take those types of steps in the right direction,� Marmol said. “He just missed one to left (field) earlier, the one he skied to left, and then was able to get that one. That’s a big swing. ... He came through in a big moment.�

The 28-year-old, who has been one of the Cardinals’ key relievers in 2025, added that he wants to “put my best foot forward� each time he is called upon through the final stretch of the regular season.

His Thursday outing in a win over the Pirates was just that.

Leahy logged two scoreless innings and recorded four strikeouts while limiting the Pirates to no hits and two walks. Leahy struck one batter in the sixth inning as he stranded a runner on third base to end the frame with the game tied 1-1. He struck out the side in the seventh and notched his 100th career strikeout in the process.

Leahy’s two scoreless innings put him in a position to collect his fourth win after an RBI double by Thomas Saggese in the seventh inning and a two-run homer from Jordan Walker in the at-bat that followed lifted the Cardinals to a 4-1 win at Busch Stadium.

“That’s the goal every time I pitch: just try to put up zeroes. Glad I was able to do it,� Leahy said.

The scoreless outing marked the righty’s first scoreless appearance since Aug. 11. He lowered his ERA to 3.03 and pushed his innings total to 71 1/3 through 52 appearances. Leahy has received the largest share of the bullpen’s innings this year. The reliever with the next-closest innings total is JoJo Romero, who has totaled 48 in 53 appearances.

To monitor the right-hander’s workload, the Cardinals have looked to give Leahy enough days of rest in between outings, especially if he provides multiple innings as he did Thursday.

“Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way, but he’s done a really nice job of going out and giving you two at a time and being really effective,� Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said.

A former starter in the minors, Leahy has been no stranger to stacking innings.

Leahy totaled 76 2/3 innings of relief a season ago as he bounced between the majors and Class AAA and surpassed 80 innings in 2023 after he reached 144 2/3 innings while primarily starting in Class AA. Nearing the final month of his first full regular season in the majors, he wants to continue the stability he’s provided this year.

“This is where I want to be. This is what we live for. I don’t want the season to end. I want to keep going, and I want to keep getting better and, like I said, just put a good month together,� Leahy said.

Arenado set for reevaluation

Third baseman Nolan Arenado is set to return to 51ºÚÁÏ â€œover the next weekâ€� and be reevaluated by team doctors to determine the next steps in his recovery from a right shoulder strain.

Since landing on the injured list Aug. 1, Arenado has done his rehab at the Cardinals’ complex in Jupiter, Florida. He’s progressed to taking swings, throwing and going through baseball activities on back-to-back days.

“We talked this morning. He’s feeling good,� Marmol said.

How Arenado progresses in the next week could determine his timeline to begin a rehab assignment.

King feels back injury won’t end season

Already back on the injured list after coming off it Sunday, left-hander John King said Thursday he believes the mid-back strain that landed him on the 15-day IL Wednesday wouldn’t sideline him through the rest of the season.

After missing over three weeks with a left oblique strain, King felt the back pain while playing catch and throwing off a pitcher’s mound Monday lingered into Tuesday morning, leading to his IL placement the next day.

King has been prescribed rest and was to learn more Thursday on what his next steps would be.

The lefty said he’s dealt with discomfort in his back, including spasms, since 2022 and has managed it to keep himself off the IL. King, whose current IL stint is his first for a back injury, described his mid-back strain as a nerve or back injury rather than a muscle strain based on the MRIs he’s undergone.

“It showed a little bit of inflammation but nothing like an oblique tear or anything like that, or a strain,� King said. “It’s more backside of my rib cage on my side, rather than on the straight side.�

Extra bases

• Victor Scott II (left ankle sprain) left 51ºÚÁÏ to join Class AA Springfield (Missouri) on Thursday, where he is set to go through pregame activities before potentially playing in a rehab game Friday.
• Right-hander Andre Pallante is slated to remain on turn in the starting rotation, Marmol said. Pallante is listed as the Cardinals’ probable starter for Sunday’s series finale in Cincinnati.
• Top prospect JJ Wetherholt produced a three-hit game Wednesday for Class AAA Memphis to raise his batting average in Class AAA to .336 over 33 games for the Redbirds. The multi-hit game was Wetherholt’s fourth multi-hit performance in his previous five games and his 32nd multi-hit game this season.

The pair of extra-base hits by two of the youngest Cardinals hitters helped the Cardinals (66-69) to a four-game series split against the Pirates.

The three runs provided by Walker and Saggese came after Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas held the Pirates to one run and Kyle Leahy totaled four strikeouts across two hitless innings of relief. The win in the series finale was sealed by a hold from Riley O’Brien and a save from JoJo Romero.

Charged with five runs in 2 2/3 innings in his previous start, Mikolas allowed one run on a 440-foot homer in the first inning but kept Pittsburgh scoreless after. He worked around traffic to get through the first and second innings before nine of the 10 batters he faced through the final three innings of the five he provided Thursday.

Before the Cardinals tallied three runs in the seventh inning to take the lead, they were held to one run on four hits and a walk by Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft. The lone run the Cardinals scored against the righty in his 5 2/3 innings came in the third inning on a double by Ivan Herrera that ended with Herrera getting tagged out on the bases after he took too wide a turn around second base and was caught in a rundown.

Navigating early traffic

After giving up a tape-measure solo home run on the first pitch he threw to former Cardinals teammate Tommy Pham with one out in the first inning, Mikolas had to pitch through traffic on the bases to get through the first and second frames.

A pop out and fly out helped him calm a stressful first frame. An inning later, the 37-year-old righty kept the Pirates quiet with a ground ball and swing-and-miss.

Following a hit by pitch of Bryan Reynolds and a double by Nick Gonzales that put two runners in scoring position during the first inning, Mikolas placed a change-up below the strike zone that got Oneil Cruz to chase. Cruz hit a weak pop-up caught by shortstop Masyn Winn. During the next at-bat, Mikolas’ 88.2 mph slider thrown on the outer half of the plate to Joey Bart got Bart to fly out to center field.

In the second inning, a sharply hit single by Jack Suwinski and a walk to Liover Peguero put two Pirates on base, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s sacrifice bunt advanced them to second and third base.

Dealing with multiple runners on base for a second consecutive inning, Mikolas worked a 2-1 count even with a slider that caught the inner half of the strike zone to lefty Spencer Horowitz. Mikolas then got Horowitz to ground a ball back to him on a curveball thrown to the outer half of home plate.

To complete a second escape job, Mikolas put Pham into a 1-2 count with a sinker and fastball called for strikes. A 94.7 mph fastball located at the top of the strike zone got Pham to whiff for the inning-ending out.

Nootbaar gets on, gets in

Entering Thursday hitless in his previous 19 at-bats, Nootbaar had his hitless streak reach 20 consecutive at-bats when a 102.7 mph line drive hit off Ashcraft’s glove and resulted in a ground out. The hitless skid was snapped two innings later.

When he faced Ashcraft in the third inning, Nootbaar extended his at-bat by fouling off a 3-2 92.3 mph slider thrown low and inside and lined a single on the seventh pitch he saw.

The line drive, which jumped off Nootbaar’s bat at 95.2 mph, represented the second hit of the afternoon for the Cardinals. Nootbaar added to his afternoon with a single in the sixth inning that had a 103.4 mph exit velocity and doubled in the seventh inning on a ball he hit with 101.8 mph exit velocity.

Leahy quiets Pirates

Having gone five outings since his last scoreless outing, Leahy had just two balls put in play against him when he pitched the sixth and seventh innings of Thursday’s finale.

Leahy recorded an out on a fly out vs. the first batter he faced and, after allowing a walk to Cruz, induced a ground out against Bart.

A swinging strikeout of Suwinski represented the first of the four the righty collected against the final five batters he faced.

Leahy opened the seventh inning by falling behind 3-1 to Peguero but landed back-to-back fastballs that reached 96 mph for called strikes to set Peguero down. He got ahead of Kiner-Falefa with a 96.9 mph fastball and saw Kiner-Falefa off a sinker clocked at 96.5 mph. After he couldn’t get Kiner-Falefa to chase on a sweeper, a second sweeper thrown low and away got a whiff for strike three.

To bookend his outing, Leahy retired Pham on four pitches. He finished the at-bat with a 96.7 mph fastball he dotted on the low outside corner.

The Pirates won 2-1 on Wednesday and have taken two of the first three.

TheÌýright-hander Mikolas (6-10, 5.17 ERA)Ìýfailed to complete the third inning in his last start, giving up five runs, four of them earned, on 10 hits. Batters hit .588 against him, the worst number he has permitted this year.

On breaking pitches, it was even worse. The Rays hit .750 against those.

Mikolas' breaking ball success strongly correlates with his overall fortunes. This month, his whiff rate and put-away rate with that type of pitch are both down.

The troubles with those pitches also forced Mikolas to deploy them less, throwing them in the last two games at two of his four lowest rates of the season.

The 37-year-old, a free agent after this season, has at most three home starts remaining. With 96 career Busch Stadium starts, he will end up just short of the milestone mark of 100.Ìý

He is 28-33 with a 3.74 ERA in his Cardinals career at Busch Stadium.

That last start continued the steady decline in his fastball velocity over his last six starts. After sitting around 92 miles per hour for most of the first few months of 2025, Mikolas turned back the clock, averaging 95 for two late-July games.

Though at 93.1 mph in his last start, that's still faster than he has thrown it most of the season.

The Pirates will send out rookie right-hander Braxton Ashcraft (4-2, 2.70 ERA), who will make his fifth career start and seventh appearance. He has not faced 51ºÚÁÏ.

The former second-round pick leads with his slider, complementing it with a middling fastball and a strong curve. He mixes in a few sinkers and an occasional changeup.

The Cardinals are 65-69 and 7 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot.ÌýPittsburgh is 59-75 and has clinched the season series between the two with only Thursday's finale remaining.

How to watch Cardinals vs. Pirates

When:Ìý1:15 p.m. Thursday

Where:ÌýBusch Stadium in 51ºÚÁÏ

TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest (); KMOX (1120 AM and 104.1 FM), other stations in the as well as .

Your options to watch: Input your ZIP code and see your choices for watching Cardinals games.

Lineups

CARDINALS

1. Lars Nootbaar, CF

2. Iván Herrera, DH

3. Alec Burleson, LF

4. Willson Contreras, 1B

5. Nolan Gorman, 3B

6. Masyn Winn, SS

7. Thomas Saggese, 2B

8. Jordan Walker, RF

9. Yohel Pozo, C

P:ÌýMiles Mikolas, RHP

PIRATES

1. Spencer Horwitz, 1B

2. Tommy Pham, LF

3. Bryan Reynolds, DH

4. Nick Gonzales, 2B

5. Oneil Cruz, CF

6. Joey Bart, C

7. Jack Suwinski, RF

8. Liover Peguero, SS

9. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 3B

P:ÌýBraxton Ashcraft, RHP

Injury report

John King, LHP (mid-back strain): King’s back injury is believed to be related to the left oblique strain that landed him on the IL near the end of July and kept him sidelined through the first three weeks of August. King tried throwing before Tuesday’s game and felt discomfort and underwent imaging. A timeline for his recovery could become clearer later this week, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said, but King said he believes the injury wouldn’t sideline him through the rest of the season.ÌýUpdated Aug. 28

Nolan Arenado, 3B (right shoulder strain):ÌýArenado is set to return to 51ºÚÁÏ â€œover the next weekâ€� and be reevaluated by team doctors to determine the next steps in his recovery from a right shoulder strain.ÌýSince landing on the injured list Aug. 1, Arenado has done his rehab at the Cardinals’ complex in Jupiter, Florida. He’s progressed to taking swings, throwing and going through baseball activities on back-to-back days.ÌýHow Arenado progresses in the next week could determine his timeline.ÌýUpdated Aug. 28

Brendan Donovan, 2B (sprained toe/left groin):ÌýAn injury sustained before the All-Star break persists and is likely contributing to soreness in his leg and groin, the infielder said recently. The Cardinals placed him on the 10-day injured list Aug. 18 retroactive to Aug. 15. He’s begun hitting off a tee, taken swings through soft toss, and reportedly felt progress in his groin. As of Wednesday, Donovan was continuing to make progress toward a point where he’s free of pain. There is no timetable for his injury recovery. Updated Aug. 27

Victor Scott II, CF (sprained left ankle):ÌýScott, who sprained his ankle Aug. 16 while trying to rob a home run from Aaron Judge, left 51ºÚÁÏ to join Class AA Springfield (Missouri) on Thursday, where he is set to go through pregame activities before potentially playing in a rehab game Friday.ÌýUpdated Aug. 28

Masyn Winn, SS (knee):ÌýA late scratch Sunday ahead of the series finale after feeling discomfort in his right knee, Winn returned to the lineup Monday and described himself as “day-to-dayâ€� while he deals with the injury. Winn has been playing through the soreness for most of the season, and he has a daily regimen that involves treatment and training for the knee. He underwent an MRI of the knee on Monday that showed improvements, Marmol said. Winn received an anti-inflammatory shot during the All-Star break to alleviate some of the pain. He said Monday the injury will require him to play through pain.ÌýUpdated Aug. 25

Zack Thompson, LHP (shoulder, lat strain):ÌýLefty starter remains on a throwing program in Jupiter, trying to overcome some setbacks as he increased the intensity of his throws through the course of the season. He's visited 51ºÚÁÏ for evaluation to monitor if the injury worsens. Thompson has been sidelined since the start of March and was transferred to the 60-day injured list in early April. There is no timetable for his return to the mound.ÌýUpdated Aug. 6

As in miles per hour.

Bubba Chandler, this year’s flame-throwing Buc fresh out of the minors, pitched four scoreless innings of relief Wednesday to buy time for his club to upend the Cardinals’ lead and win 2-1 at Busch Stadium. Chandler blitzed the Cardinals with a fastball that reached 100 mph seven times, and he threw 30 of the game’s 31 fastest pitches. He walked one batter, hit another batter, allowed one hit and joined a growing list of pitchers who eagerly and aggressively challenge the Cardinals with fastballs.

They’ve seen the second-most fastballs of any club this month, and in the past few weeks, they’ve faced five of the top 12 pitchers when it comes to average fastball velocity. That was before dealing with Chandler, a rookie yet to throw enough pitches to qualify for the rankings.

When he does, it will be six of the top 13 for the Cardinals.

“If you look at our production against fastballs, it’s not very good, and they kept throwing them, yes,� Marmol elaborated. “You look at some of the guys in our lineup, and that’s been their struggle – just production on the fastball. It’s not a secret, and guys continue to ramp that up against us, and we have to figure out a way to combat that and start to move forward.�

The game’s score hinged around a mishandled and confusing play at first base. Cardinals starter Sonny Gray was superb on the mound but missed a toss from Willson Contreras at first that put the Cardinals’ early 1-0 lead in jeopardy. Gray (12-7) had five perfect innings in his seven, and he whisked through an aggressive Pirates lineup by spinning curves and landing cutters. He did not allow a third ball to reach the outfield until the 18th Pirate he faced.

But two of the ground balls he got proved costly.

With two on and no outs in the sixth inning, Gray got a grounder to first baseman Contreras. The first baseman looked toward second, but he was blocked by the base runner. So Contreras turned to flip the ball to Gray at the base. Gray had his head down and did not see the flip. The ball rolled near his feet — and the Pirates had the bases loaded with no outs. Tommy Pham skipped a grounder up the middle to bring home two and reverse the Cardinals’ lead.

“Weird play,� Gray said.

He said the inning was loaded with “some wacky stuff.�

“We just don’t have a whole lot of room for error,� Marmol said. “We have to play near perfect and take advantage of mistakes in order to win right now.�

In part, that’s because the offense has been inconsistent recently and capable of a sudden cold snap. Especially against heat.

Chandler (1-0), a top 10 prospect in all the minors this season, followed Carmen Mlodzinski’s three innings as the Pirates’ starter. Mlodzinski held the Cardinals to one run on three hits, and he struck out four. He reached 97 mph with his fastball. Mlodzinski and Chandler combined for seven strikeouts in their seven innings, and they threw 99 pitches.

Fifty-one of them were four-seam fastballs.

Twenty-nine of those were 98 mph or faster.

This season, as a team, the Cardinals have the fifth-lowest slugging percentage of any team against all fastballs, at .396. (Pittsburgh has the worst, at .383.) The Cardinals rank 20th in batting average against all fastballs, at .257. Baseball Savant’s Statcast database can peel away the cutters and sinkers, and doing that shows how the Cardinals have the fourth-worst slugging percentage against four-seam fastballs, at .399. Their on-base percentage is a sturdy .343, which ranks 12th in the majors.

But as the velocity starts to climb, the Cardinals begin to see their slugging sag.

They have the third-best average in the majors against fastballs at 98 mph or faster — hitting .264 and slugging .357. That slugging percentage plummets to .263 against fastballs at 100 mph or faster.

“It’s how you practice,� Marmol said when asked how to improve against heat. “I think when you have a routine that doesn’t lend itself well to producing against the fastball, you have to make the adjustments and practice seeing it and responding the way you’re supposed to. There are several things you can do as far as underneath, in the cage, to improve that part of that game. At times, it’s uncomfortable.�

The equipment the Cardinals have to work on fastballs in the cages include a high-velocity pitching machine and the high-dollar Trajekt that mimics specific pitches.

The drills hitters use to prepare and improve against velocity include cranking the velocity machine and sometimes scooting up in the box to shorten the distance, cut into the reaction time and simulate an even faster pitch than they’ll see in a game. Another practice the Cardinals have is changing the angle of the pitching machine so that it comes from where a shortstop would be standing or a second baseman. That has the feel of a crossfire pitcher — but it also challenges the hitter by leaving less time to make true, hard contact.

A left-handed batter facing the velocity pitching machine from the second base angle must be quick to get the barrel squarely on time to the pitch.

“When you think about practice, a lot of guys want to practice in a way that makes you feel good,� Marmol said. “When it comes to producing against the fastball — that velocity — sometimes you’ve got to practice in a way that sucks. You are practicing harder than what you’re going to experience in a game and that’s uncomfortable. But that’s one way to get better at it. It’s something that isn’t going to happen overnight.�

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Pedro Pages’ RBI single. In the third, Ivan Herrera singled to put runners at the corners with one out. Mlodzinski then struck out the Cardinals’ two leading hitters — Alec Burleson and Contreras. The right-hander got ahead with 97-mph fastballs and finished each strikeout with a change-up.

Contreras has been one of the Cardinals’ best against heat, with a .504 slugging percentage on fastballs. No Cardinal has seen more four-seam fastballs that Masyn Winn, and he’s slugging .406 against them. Burleson slugs .500 against fastballs. Others have struggled, like Herrera’s .326 slugging percentage on fastballs or Thomas Saggese’s .258 slugging and Jordan Walker’s .203 average. Third basemen Nolan Arenado and Nolan Gorman have hit .217 and .216 on four-seam fastballs this season, respectively.

That practice to improve also comes in games, and the Cardinals have had plenty of swings recently at some of the league’s swiftest fastballs.

In August alone, the Cardinals have faced San Diego’s Mason Miller (101.2 mph average) and Robert Suarez (98.5 mph), Tampa Bay’s Mason Montgomery (98.7 mph) and Joe Boyle (98.6 mph), and Colorado’s Victor Vodnik (98.7 mph) and Chase Dollander (97.8 mph).

During this four-game visit from Pittsburgh, they’re missing last season’s Pirates power sensation Paul Skenes, who averages 98.2 mph on his four-seam fastball and 97.7 mph on his sinker. And in Cincinnati this weekend, Hunter Greene (99.4 mph) is not scheduled to start.

Chandler gave the Cardinals plenty of looks at velocity to compensate.

“His stuff was good,� Marmol said. “Our overall production, collectively as a club, against the fastball needs to improve.�