How the Cubs helped save Oli Marmol from himself in eventual Cardinals win

In what became a pivotal decision late in the Cardinals eventual win over the Chicago Cubs, manager Oli Marmol opted to stick with Alec Burleson as the eventual winning baserunner at second base, allowing Matt Carpenter to hit against Cubs relief pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. However, had Cubs manager Craig Counsell opted to go another route -- such as removing Leiter Jr. in favor of just-activated pitcher Drew Smyly -- Marmol would have gone a different route.

Marmol admitted postgame that had Smyly been the pitcher, he likely would have asked Dylan Carlson to pinch-hit instead. Carpenter got the call against Leiter Jr., and would have against Hector Neris as well. Marmol also considered pinch-running for Burleson at second base, a move that would have put Carlson in the spotlight at second base.

“Can you pinch-run for him?” Marmol asked rhetorically, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We went back and forth 100 times. If you’re down, but you don’t have a running upgrade and also someone else who can take that at-bat when Smyly comes in. … I felt like Siani’s at-bat was going to be a big at-bat.”

Oli Marmol made the right call for the Cardinals, all thanks to the Cubs

Instead, Marmol stuck to his gut, all because the Cubs stuck with Leiter Jr. With two outs, Carpenter delivered a base hit and Burleson scored the then game-tying run by a matter of inches.

Perhaps Carlson would have scored in that position as well, or maybe he could've delivered a base hit in a similar vane to Carpenter. Had he not, though, Marmol surely would've been under fire from a Cardinals fanbase which has been quick to blame him every chance they get.

John Mozeliak signed Marmol to a contract extension prior to the season, a move than was unpopular among the fanbase. Should the Cardinals fail to make a playoff run, both could be fired at the end of the campaign.

“There was never any doubt in my mind that he wasn’t going to continue being the Cardinals manager,” Mozeliak said. at the time, per The Athletic. “But coming off the year we just experienced, I think a lot of people would have been happy if we were both gone.”

When weighing Marmol's future, it's only fair to point out his good decisions, as well as the ones that come back to haunt St. Louis. So far this season, he's received mixed reviews.