ST. LOUIS -- Though Cardinals No. 8 prospect Quinn Mathews had gotten his feet wet at the big league level with a few starts over the past several weeks, Friday night at Busch Stadium was his first chance to pitch in front of the home crowd.
As evidenced by the applause when he walked off the field during a pitching change with two outs in the sixth, he made the most of his Busch Stadium debut.
Flashing his dynamic swing-and-miss arsenal, Mathews matched his previous high with seven strikeouts. The efficiency, though, was the key element that saw a marked improvement as Mathews was able to limit the damage -- both in terms of the batted balls against him and the freebies issued by him -- to produce the most impactful start of his fledgling MLB career.
Mathews pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run baseball on Friday, guiding the Cardinals to a 4-1 win in the series opener against the Pirates for his first Major League win.
The rookie left-hander was an out away from completing six innings when Nick Gonzales beat him for a base hit, triggering the move to the bullpen from manager Oliver Marmol with the upstart right-handed slugger Rafael Flores Jr. due up.
Amid a taxing stretch of baseball for the St. Louis bullpen, it was Ryan Fernandez who drew the key assignment, ultimately striking out Flores Jr. looking to end the sixth, securing Mathews’ pitching line would carry just one earned run.
Mathews permitted five hits, half the number he surrendered in his prior start in Philadelphia, and walked only one batter.
The first piece of run support for Mathews came courtesy of his batterymate’s bat. Catcher Jimmy Crooks blasted his fifth home run of the season, a rocket out to right field to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
A fellow rookie who carries distinct familiarity with Mathews from their dual rise through the farm system in recent years, Crooks was seemingly the ideal backstop to shepherd Mathews through his first start at Busch.
Nathan Church added a sacrifice fly to plate Jordan Walker in the fourth. Walker rounded the bases to score his second run of the night on an error in the eighth inning to provide Ryne Stanek with ample cushion ahead of his ninth-inning duties.