Cardinals: 3 painful stats from Miles Mikolas’ near-no hitter

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas lost a no-hitter in painful fashion — with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Here are some takeaways:

Mikolas and the Cards did increase their division lead by sweeping a doubleheader against the lowly Pirates, who are suddenly playing like the sum of their parts (finally). Pittsburgh has lost nine games in a row, beating out the rival Cubs, who have lost eight games in a row. Both teams are closing in on the Reds for title of worst team in the NL Central.

But this story is not about the Cubs or Bucs. Mikolas and the Cards came oh so close to history, and it’s important to focus on this one event through the only possible lens — disappointment.

As great as Mikolas has been for the Redbirds’ rotation, and as much as he may try to put a positive spin on things, there’s no doubt even the 33-year-old wanted more. Heck, he was just one strike away.

Cardinals: Miles Mikolas set a personal pitch record

Mikolas’ 129 pitches were the most for a pitcher this season, and the most of his career. It’s no surprise, given his extensive injury history, that the 33-year-old hasn’t reached that mark previously.

It is surprising, however, that Oli Marmol trusted his starting pitcher enough to give him a chance at history. Were this Dave Roberts, perhaps I’d be writing a different story altogether. Frankly, it was a breath of fresh air.

Cardinals: Miles Mikolas has been the ultimate workhorse

All that being said, perhaps Mikolas deserves an extra day of rest.

Had he gone the distance, Mikolas would’ve been the only pitcher to have 17+ innings pitched in back-to-back complete games since 2017. No-hitter or not, that’s the definition of saving the bullpen for later.

Mikolas was one out away, so it still counts as a relatively stress-free game for the ‘pen. Yet, it speaks to just how great Mikolas has been of late. Marmol ought to know — it’s best to keep him fresh moving forward.

Cardinals: Miles Mikolas makes painful MLB history

Per Baseball-Reference, Mikolas became one of only 17 pitchers in MLB history since the turn of the century (not 2000, I’m talking 1901) to throw 8.2 innings of one-hit ball.

Mikolas was immediately removed after giving up his base hit to Cal Mitchell.

I apologize, St. Louis Cardinals fans. That was painful to write, even for me.