MILWAUKEE -- There was nothing nefarious afoot Monday night when Mike Shildt called on closer Carlos Martínez with two outs in the ninth inning in relief of lefty reliever Andrew Miller, who entered in the seventh, with the Cardinals sitting on a comfortable 10-run lead.

Instead, in the case of both pitchers, the St. Louis manager was just trying to get two of his key relievers some much-needed work while trying to limit the exposure of other bullpen arms whose workload had been relatively heavy entering the series at Miller Park.

"Yesterday was really as cut and dry as you could make it," Shildt said on Tuesday. "There wasn't any real choice to any of it based on the workload of the bullpen prior and the freshness of Miller and Carlos. They needed to absorb a little bit of the innings."

Neither pitcher had seen game action since Thursday, when they combined to strike out three batters over the final 1 2/3 innings of St. Louis' 6-5 victory over the Rockies.

In speaking to Shildt before the game, both expressed a desire to get some game action to stay fresh, especially with an off-day scheduled for Thursday. And when Shildt had to turn to his bullpen in the fourth inning in relief of Adam Wainwright, the decision to call on Miller and Martinez later in the game became something of a no-brainer.

"Looking at the composition of innings, people's freshness and the conversation I had with those guys, both of them were in the mix to pitch almost regardless of the situation," Shildt said.

Miller and Martinez both saw action during Tuesday night's 6-3 win, as well. Miller allowed a two-run home run over one-third of an inning, while Martinez went 1 2/3 to register his 16th save.

Wong thrives in return

Kolten Wong worked out before Tuesday's game at Miller Park, running on the field in cleats, and he thrived in his return to action during the game.

Having been out of action since Saturday against the Rockies, when he fouled a pitch off his right foot, Wong came off the bench in the Cardinals' win on Tuesday and went 2-for-2 with a pinch-hit RBI double and RBI single.

Gant racks up victories

Among the other Cardinals relievers who appeared on Monday was right-hander John Gant, who struck out three over 2 1/3 scoreless innings after taking over for Wainwright. He registered his ninth win of the season, which ties him with Wainwright for second most on the team.

"A lot of it has to do with timing," Shildt said of Gant's record. "He's pitching in a lot of games that are close, and he's done a really nice job in those games to put himself in a position to get the win -- and for us to win, as well.

Gant hasn't taken a loss this season. In 54 appearances, he entered Tuesday's game with a 2.97 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP and 50 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings.

Big honor for No. 2 prospect

Minor League outfielder Dylan Carlson was named Texas League Player of the Year on Tuesday.

Carlson, the Cardinals' No. 2 prospect and No. 50 in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline, had an .882 OPS with 21 home runs and 59 RBIs this season for Double-A Springfield in 108 games. Since being promoted to Triple-A Memphis, he entered Tuesday night hitting .455 (20-for-44) in 11 games with three home runs and a 1.283 OPS.

"He got off to a good start," Shildt said. "Looking at the reports, it seems to me like he was just playing, contributing and putting together quality at-bats for the majority of the year.

Just 20 years old, the Cardinals' first-round pick (33rd overall) in the 2016 MLB Draft was one of the youngest players at the Double-A level this season.

The honor came as no surprise to Shildt, who got a first-hand look at Carlson during Spring Training. Carlson appeared in 23 Grapefruit League games for the Cardinals before lighting up the Minor League circuit.

"It doesn't surprise me that we're sitting here talking about it," Shildt said. "It's a pretty impressive accomplishment."