D-backs Going for Sweep vs Cardinals in Critical NL Wild Card Race

Diamondbacks and Cardinals Starting Pitching Matchup

Miles Mikolas beat Zac Gallen on May 23, going six innings and allowing one run on four hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.

He's 3-2 with a 2.97 ERA in his career versus the Diamondbacks. He was knocked around at Chase Field last year in April however, giving up five runs in 4.2 innings.

The matchup to watch is against Eugenio Suarez, who is 7-for-17, .412 with two homers and a double against Mikolas.

Merrill Kelly lost to the Cardinals on May 24, giving up four runs in six innings. He's 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA in seven starts all time versus St. Louis.

One interesting storyline between these two pitchers is that they both went overseas to advance their careers, and then came back to the United States to have success in MLB.

Mikolas spent three years in Japan from 2015-17. In 62 games he went 31-13 with a 2.18 ERA pitching for the Yomiuri Giants. He returned to the USA with the Cardinals in 2018 and has been with them ever since.

Mikolas had a big year in 2018, going 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA, finishing sixth in the Cy Young voting and making the All-Star team.

He's not been nearly as effective since, going 47-60 with a 4.41 ERA in 159 games since 2019. But the Cardinals have paid the now 36-year-old $122 million in his time with the club.

Kelly's story is familiar to Diamondbacks fans. The same age as Mikolas, he pitched four years with the SK Wyverns of the KBO.

Kelly often speaks fondly of his time in Korea, and it was there that he learned how to pitch, going 48-32 with a 3.86 ERA in the run-happy league.

In 160 games with Arizona he's 61-49 with a 3.76 ERA. Kelly has gotten better with age. He has a 3.42 ERA over the last four years. But he's earned but a fraction of the money Mikolas has earned, pulling down $38.5 million in his time with the Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks vs Cardinals Lineups

(Check back later for lineups.)

Diamondbacks and Cardinals Bullpens

The D-backs' starters have gone 13 innings the last two games, leaving only five innings on the table for their bullpen.

Kevin Ginkel and Kendall Graveman have not worked in the series yet, although Ginkel warmed up on Friday night. Kyle Backhus threw eight pitches on Saturday, retiring one batter and giving up a base hit.

The Cardinals' starters have been knocked around, but the innings picked up by the bullpen have gone to their low-leverage and long relievers. Closer Ryan Helsley and setup men Phil Maton and JoJo Romero have not pitched in the series yet.

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