The Key Fix That Led to Miles Mikolas' Gem After One of His Worst Starts

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Rex Villas | Last updated Jul 11, 2025 7:48 AM ET

Miles Mikolas has been quite an unpredictable starter in the 2025 MLB season for the St. Louis Cardinals.

That was very much on display over his last two starts, as he recovered from a poor performance in an 11-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on July 4 by taming the Washington Nationals on Thursday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis to lead his team to an 8-1 victory.

Against the Cubs, Mikolas was chased for eight earned runs on 10 hits, six of which were home runs. He struck out four and did not issue a walk, but it was hard to deny that his six-inning outing in that contest was not ideal.

Adjustments had to be made after such a horrible start, and Mikolas addressed that with the help of pitching coach Dusty Blake.

“(Mikolas) is a pro,” Marmol said (via Katie Woo of The Athletic). “You can shoot him straight, you can tell him exactly what you need to say, and he handles it really well. The majority of the (conversations this week) was with (pitching coach) Dusty Blake, just cleaning up some tipping and making sure that were going into this outing feeling good about that.”

The result showed in his stellar showing against the Nationals, as the 36-year-old Mikolas pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and a free pass while recording a total of six strikeouts.

A two-time All-Star, Mikolas improved to 5-6 with a still mediocre 4.94 ERA. Nevertheless, his start against the Nationals was a terrific way for him to punctuate his first-half duties for the Cardinals.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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