On today’s Bernie Show, Bernie Miklasz broke down one of the biggest reasons the Cardinals are staying competitive: staying healthy. Through June 4, Cardinals players had missed only 113 games to injury, far below the MLB average of 456 games per team. Over 70 of those games were from pitcher Zack Thompson, meaning the core roster has remained largely intact.
Bernie credited manager Oli Marmol and pitching coach Dusty Blake for managing workloads smartly. The Cardinals have used a six-man rotation at times, kept pitch counts modest, and limited back-to-back usage of relievers. The rotation ranks top five in innings per start, while maintaining one of the lowest pitch counts in the league. The staff also ranks high in ground-ball rate and low in walks, reducing strain on pitchers.
Miklasz also pushed back on the idea of “jinxes,” calling it nonsense, and highlighted just how injured other contenders are. Teams like the Dodgers, Brewers, Reds, Cubs, and Mets have each lost hundreds more games to injury.
With a demanding stretch of games ahead, Bernie argued that the Cardinals’ relative health is a major edge. So far, it is one of the main reasons they remain in the playoff hunt.