CINCINNATI -- Masyn Winn’s first-career game with three extra-base hits was inspired by a pregame mechanical tweak.
“We worked on leaving the bat on the shoulder rather than raising it up early,” Winn said. “It just keeps my hands more quiet. I felt very comfortable tonight.”
Winn’s eruption at the plate paced the Cardinals lineup in a 3-0 win over the Reds on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park, and it all stemmed from a concept that Cards catcher Pedro Pagés had mentioned to Winn during the prior day’s doubleheader.
Winn filed it away, and after implementing it pregame Tuesday, tried it out in the game -- to immediate dividends.
“We went back and looked at a lot of my, you know, when I was going good,” Winn explained. “And my bat almost never moved. It was on my shoulder the whole time. So, I tried it today, and it worked out pretty well.”
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol deadpanned his initial response when the subject of his shortstop was raised postgame.
“He’s very good at baseball,” Marmol said. “Phenomenal day.”
But he wasn’t speaking only to Winn’s bat. Once again, his golden leather spoke for itself.
“It seems like this guy makes a play that the rest of the league can’t make every night,” Marmol added. “It’s a heckuva lot of fun watching.”
Winn scored twice in the win, also crossing the plate on an RBI double by José Fermín in the seventh. That run, and the Joshua Báez sacrifice fly in the eighth, were bonus tallies, as the Cardinals’ sterling night on the mound made the insurance unnecessary.
If you look at the box score, but hide the pitch count, Kyle Leahy was a model of efficiency.
He allowed just three hits. He didn’t permit a run. He didn’t walk anybody.
Yet, the Reds had him out of the game after five innings and 90 pitches.
It was a collective approach from the Cincinnati lineup that produced that result. But if you’re looking to pin Leahy’s oddly strenuous scoreless start on one culprit, it starts with Dane Myers.
After Myers’ two home runs Monday, Leahy needed 11 pitches to retire him on a groundout to end a lengthy battle in the bottom of the second.
The at-bat was emblematic of the arduous nature of Leahy’s otherwise solid outing, as it marked one of six different full counts around which the Cardinals starter had to navigate. It helps explain how three total baserunners equated to 90 pitches.
“He won a lot of those, too,” Marmol said. “Which is the key. A lot of times, you lose those 3-2 counts and that’s where you see some runs come across the board.”
Leahy finished the night with six strikeouts and whittled his season ERA down to 3.24. For the 10th consecutive start, he held the opposition to two or fewer runs.
As it turns out, regardless of his efficiency, five innings was as deep as Leahy was going to go on Tuesday as the Cardinals continue to manage his workload in his first full season in a starting role.
After logging 88 innings in 2025, Leahy is now up to 122 1/3 innings this season.
That’s the part of the conversation surrounding Monday’s bullpen usage in the doubleheader split that isn’t as easily understood until after Tuesday plays out.
Marmol knew he’d need the bullpen to navigate four innings of Tuesday’s game. So, spreading the relief duties across five arms in Monday’s first game before putting the bulk of the second game on Peter Strzelecki allowed for a moderately operational unit heading into the remainder of the series.
“Until it happens, [it’s] harder to defend before the game,” Marmol said. “But, like, [if] you use guys for multiples yesterday and you don’t have coverage for four innings knowing that Leahy’s going five today. Then, that’s where it gets interesting and you put yourself into a tough spot going into today.”
Following Leahy’s start, Cardinals relievers Ryne Stanek, Gordon Graceffo, George Soriano and Riley O’Brien combined for a scoreless effort out of the bullpen -- in many ways, validating the manager’s balancing act from the previous day.
“You just never know how it’s going to play out,” Marmol said. “But if you use them for multiples in Game 1, then some of them may not be available to secure this game today. You play with what you have, and all those guys wanted the ball today -- and they did a phenomenal job.”