Miles Mikolas is looking forward to the offseason, when the St. Louis Cardinals will try to rebuild their depleted pitching staff.
In the meantime, the right-hander is trying to hold the fort after fellow starter Steven Matz suffered a lat strain and Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty departed in trades.
Mikolas (6-8, 4.27 ERA) will take the mound on Saturday night when the Cardinals face the New York Mets in the third contest of a four-game set in St. Louis.
The Mets recorded a 4-2 triumph on Thursday and a 7-1 victory Friday and have won three games in a row.
“I think St. Louis is a really appealing place for pitchers, you know, if I could just put that out there and it’s not tampering,” Mikolas told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s great to be here. It is.
“There is no reason with what’s most likely going to be an identical offense next year — looking around, it will be about the same — that we have the potential to fill the open (pitching) spots with quality guys and hit the ground running with a good, clean, fresh slate.”
Mikolas is looking for his first victory since July 17. He is 0-3 with two no-decisions since then.
The Cardinals defeated Oakland 7-5 Monday in his last start; however, Mikolas allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings.
Mikolas dropped a 6-1 decision to the Mets on June 16. He allowed those six runs on eight hits, including a homer by Daniel Vogelbach.
In his career, Mikolas is 1-2 with a 3.21 ERA in five appearances (four starts) against the Mets.
Like Mikolas, Mets starter Kodai Senga (9-6, 3.30) also is looking forward to next year.
Senga praised Mets general manager Billy Eppler and said he would be glad to help the team attract pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto from Japan next season if his team hosts him.
“It’s very apparent that Billy pays attention to the culture of Japan and knows how to interact with Japanese people well,” Senga told reporters through an interpreter. “I felt that first-handedly, and his presentation skills are amazing, so I think that could work in the Mets’ favor.”
Senga, who will start Saturday’s game for New York, fit smoothly into the team’s rotation after signing a five-year, $75 million free-agent contract to the offseason.
“Everybody on the team is such a great teammate,” he told reporters through an interpreter. “I personally am not a very fluent English speaker, but everyone welcomed me with open arms and tries to communicate.”
Senga won his last two starts, 11-2 over the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 7 and 7-6 against the Atlanta Braves six days later. He worked six innings each time and allowed a total of five runs on 11 hits and four walks while striking out 13.
Senga dropped a 5-3 decision to the Cardinals on June 17 in his only career outing against them. He struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings but allowed four runs on five hits.
Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer against Senga in that game, and Jordan Walker hit a solo shot.
–Field Level Media
