Not quite déjà vu: McGreevy is solid but can't replicate debut vs. Rangers

ST. LOUIS -- Sequels are hardly ever as good as the original.

For three innings, Michael McGreevy tried to buck that trend as he made his second career start against the Rangers, against whom he made a sensational debut in 2024.

Unfortunately for McGreevy and the Cardinals, the sequel fell flat once the Rangers turned the lineup over in a 2-1 loss Monday night.

McGreevy’s final line was actually good -- six innings, two runs, five hits, two walks and a strikeout. It just wasn’t the one run in seven innings in his debut July 31, 2024, which was supported by an offensive explosion in a 10-1 win.

But even if the ultimate results were lacking on the scoreboard, McGreevy came away from the start with more positives than negatives.

“I think that was probably the best my body's felt in terms of a velo standpoint all year,” McGreevy said. “So, I'm really happy about that. Some good numbers in the first, was a 92.4 there in the sixth, that last pitch on pitch 87, and definitely moving in the right direction again.”

McGreevy credited a switch in his weekly prep for the uptick in velocity.

“How we move the body and stuff and had a great midweek bullpen,” McGreevy said. “Velo ticked up, so I'm hoping that is a continuous trend.”

McGreevy needed just 39 pitches to get through his first three innings, during which he faced just one batter over the minimum.

“McGreevy did a really nice job, man,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “I love the way this kid prepares and just the way he's going about it. He's done a really nice job of truly understanding the opposition and what they did well, where the holes are, where that overlaps with his strengths and weaknesses and then just having a purpose behind every pitch that he throws.”

But the Rangers proved to be a tougher out the second time through.

Josh Jung set the tone with a nine-pitch at-bat to lead off the fourth. Though Jung struck out, Rangers’ batters forced McGreevy to throw 21 pitches in the frame. Brandon Nimmo followed Jung’s at-bat with a single and scored on Ezequiel Duran’s double to break the scoreless tie.

Masyn Winn helped pick up McGreevy by making a sliding stop on an Alejandro Osuna grounder up the middle. Winn popped to his feet to throw out Osuna at first to end the inning and prevent any further damage.

“I was like, ‘How many hops is this going to take throughout the infield?’” McGreevy said. “Like, ‘Somebody get there.’ And Masyn made a great play, and you know there's no other shortstop I'd rather have out there than him.”

A one-out walk to Danny Jansen, who McGreevy started in an 0-2 hole, came back to bite him in the fifth as Jansen scored on a Joc Pederson single to make it 2-0.

McGreevy finished strong, setting the Rangers down in order in the sixth.

“Used the fastball really well, the sinker was good pitch, changeup was a really good pitch for him today, mixed well,” Marmol said. “So overall, just a solid night.”

The Cardinals' offense couldn’t break through against Jacob deGrom, who earned his 100th career win. St. Louis put multiple runners on in three of deGrom’s five innings but did not have anything to show for it.

“At the end of the day, man, tough pitcher, drove his pitches up,” Marmol said. “I liked what we were doing early, but unfortunately still came up short.”

Winn got the Cardinals on the board with a solo homer off Peyton Gray in the sixth. Winn, a Texas native, has a hit in six of seven career games against the Rangers.

“A little bit of a bitter taste, you know,” Winn said. “Obviously, you want to get that big hit with runners in scoring position. Didn't get it tonight, but you know, I think the plan we had was really good. You know, hopefully next time we can get that lucky knock.”

But the Rangers’ bullpen shut the door after Winn’s blast, retiring 10 straight to end the game. Led by eight from deGrom, five Texas pitchers combined to strike out 14 Cardinals batters.