SAN FRANCISCO -- The Cardinals had high hopes for Leo Bernal, the club’s No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline, when they called him up Sept. 1.
But even they couldn’t have imagined the 22-year-old to look this good through the first nine games of his Major League career.
On Wednesday, St. Louis’ nine-game, three-city road trip ended with on a sour note, a 7-6 loss that sealed a sweep by San Francisco despite the Cardinals having plenty of opportunities throughout the series.
But it was Bernal who clubbed his second big league homer in the third, a three-run blast that provided a timely hit of the sort that had eluded St. Louis across the first two games. It was the hit that would have held up as the biggest in the game, had a sizable 6-1 lead not dissolved in the eighth.
Asked postgame about the eighth-inning bullpen decisions that saw Cade Winquest (two hits, four runs) and George Soriano (who allowed the game-tying two-run double to Jung Hoo Lee and Shay Whitcomb’s go-ahead double on the next pitch) allow six two-out runs to turn the game on its head, a frustrated manager Oliver Marmol deflected alternate pitching choices that could have been made in favor of breaking it down succinctly.
“Sometimes it's just execution, being able to miss a bat,” Marmol said.
Were it not for that eight-inning collapse, the game would have been a pitch-perfect way to cap a whirlwind of a start to Bernal’s big league career.
Bernal debuted Sept. 1 in Los Angeles in the first game of the nine-game road trip. All he’s done since is turn heads, to the tune of a .278/.350/.472 line with two home runs and 10 RBIs. For good measure, he also picked up his first caught stealing behind the plate on Wednesday (after a replay review).
He’s generally impressed in every facet of his game, providing plenty of excitement through this first burst of activity.
To wit: With four multi-RBI games, Bernal is tied with Albert Pujols (2001) for the most by a Cardinal in his first nine career games since RBIs became official in 1920.
“[These first games] were very good,” said Marmol. “Impressive, not only physically, but I would say his preparation and ability to see the game and communicate what he sees has been really good.”
This road trip in the rearview mirror, the Cardinals return home to Busch Stadium on Friday to open their final homestand of the regular season, a nine-game swing to conclude the home schedule that comes as they remain on the periphery of the National League Wild Card picture.
And though their path to claiming that third Wild Card spot seems daunting, Marmol is confident in his squad’s ability to move past an undesirable few days in the Bay Area once back at their home ballpark.
“What they've seen all year, I don't think we've wavered from what we said we were going to do,” said Marmol. “That's why we're in this position where it's almost the middle of the last month of the season and people are still talking about a Wild Card spot. No one expected that, but the style of play allowed for it. So I expect our group to do no different. Play the way they're capable of playing. Continue to build on the overall culture and identity that I think our fan base actually appreciates.”
At 72-75, the Cardinals would have to go 6-9 or better over their final 15 games in order to finish at or better than last season’s 78-84 record -- the sort of record that reflects a team with some edges still to sand over, but otherwise on the cusp of turning the corner.
“I don't want that to be overlooked by a loss,” said Marmol. “The reality is, there's some really positive things in the areas that should be positive, and then there's some patchwork in the areas that feel like patchwork.”
In line for the win before the lead slipped away, right-hander Andre Pallante held the Giants to five hits and one run in five-plus innings.
His perspective on the upcoming homestand echoed Marmol’s.
“There's all these narratives and everything going on,” Pallante said. “But as long as we show up to play hard, don't give up … play every game as if it's the only game we're going to play, that's what I want to see personally.”