ST. LOUIS -- A complicated pitching plan grew murkier for the Cardinals in the seventh inning of St. Louis' 4-3 loss in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.
Joey Ortiz dropped a tactical bunt toward first baseman Alec Burleson, setting off a chain of events that led to Cardinals reliever Ryne Stanek leaving the game with an injury.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol confirmed after the game that Stanek is dealing with an ankle injury.
“He rolled it,” Marmol said. “I don’t know the severity just yet, though.”
Burleson fielded the bunt and flipped it to Stanek covering the bag -- but Stanek didn’t stick the landing. He slid awkwardly across the base before rolling to his back with a wince.
After on-field discussions with personnel from the medical staff and testing out his lower body with some toe raises while standing behind the mound, Stanek ended the sequence by leaving the game, walking off the field after facing just two batters.
Cardinals second baseman Bryan Torres was also leveled on the play in a collision with Ortiz after the Brewers third baseman had safely crossed the bag with an infield hit. Torres, like Stanek, had raced to the bag attempting to cover it for the flip from Burleson.
Cardinals opener Matt Svanson and bulk reliever Bruce Zimmermann had squeezed everything they could out of a matchup against Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski. When the journeyman Zimmermann, who had his contract selected Tuesday morning to cover bulk innings in Game 1, departed after the sixth inning, the score was tied at 3.
Zimmermann’s efforts, along with home runs from Jordan Walker and Iván Herrera, set up Marmol to deploy a more customary arsenal of leverage relievers as St. Louis aimed to steal the matchup against the National League’s leader in both ERA and strikeouts.
Stanek’s exit, though, brought JoJo Romero into a tight spot with multiple runners aboard. One of the inherited runners scored on Christian Yelich's double to provide the Brewers with a 4-3 lead.