Mitchell drove a 2-2 curveball just above the head of Gold Glove center-back Harrison Bader. The ball bounced off the warning track 383 feet from the starting plate and over the wall in the immediate center for a double ground rule. “The curveball was pretty good all day and maybe I tried to turn it around a bit,” Mikolas said of the blow during his post-match interview on the pitch. “I left it a little high. The guy put a very good swing on it. That’s exactly what continued.” The blow came in the 129th stadium from Mikolas, a top career. It was lifted shortly afterwards for Packy Naughton, who closed out a 9-1 victory over the Pirates in the second game of a biceps. “I am in the best shape of my life, so this is not a problem for me. That is why beginners train all year round,” said Mykolas for the top 100. “Going the distance is always the goal.” After Mitchell’s double, Mikolas stood at the back of the mound and looked up at the sky as the director of St. Louis, Oliver Marmol is coming out of the dungeon to replace him. Mykolas was applauded when he left. He left with his head down, but looked at the crowd as he approached the steps of the dugout, finally turning his hat over. 2 About “Everyone on that boat wanted to be very bad for him,” Marmol said of Mikolas, who has struggled with injuries throughout his career. “There’s a lot of persistence in this story. Watching him do what he’s doing this year says a lot about his character.” Mykolas hit six and walked one. Pittsburgh scored an unwarranted streak in the fourth and made it 7-1 when Bryan Reynolds scored on Daniel Vogelbach’s field. Reynolds took the lead and incendedly to the left flank when left-back Juan Yepez made no mistake. Reynolds qualified for third place on the court. Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman dived into the fourth and threw an unbalanced throw from the middle of the diamond to the sixth to prevent possible bumps. Mikolas worked a seventh 1-2-3 with the help of a nice catch by Bader on the center fence with Jack Suwinski’s car. Pittsburgh also dropped to eighth. “I kind of like not finishing it. I mean, I don’t have one yet, and I have friends who have one. It would be nice to be in this discussion,” Mikolas said of a non-hitter. “But I can not say enough about our defense. We were everywhere we needed to be and we played fantastic games throughout the game. I feel like I disappointed them after all this defense I had.” The most recent non-hit for the Cardinals was thrown by rookie Bud Smith in a 4-0 win over San Diego on September 3, 2001. Almost 21 years later, Mikolas found himself in the spotlight for a similar reason, though he did not enjoy it. the silent treatment he received. “I do not like it at all,” he said. “I always try to talk to people during the game. And it smells a bit when no one wants to talk to me.” Mykolas was trying for the third non-hitter in the big seasons this year. Taylor Megil and four New York Mets contenders teamed up for one on April 29 against Philadelphia. Los Angeles Angels rookie Reid Detmers fired a shot against Tampa Bay on May 10. St. Louis won the first game of the day-night with 3-1. The Cardinals now have three straight wins, 10 games over 0,500 (37-27) and are 2.5 games in front of the pitch at National League Central. “It’s about winning baseball. These guys are on all sides, playing very good baseball,” Marmol said. “So many small things happen that are impressive.” Pittsburgh has lost nine games in a row. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
