ST. LOUIS – One of the early-season bright spots for this year’s St. Louis Cardinals is the bullpen. More specifically, flame-throwing closer Ryan Helsley.
Helsely, an All-Star pitcher in 2022, took over as the Cardinals’ go-to closer that season and hasn’t really looked back. Now 29 years old, he’s battled with a few injuries and hiccups along the way, but appears to be in top form through the first month of the season.
Two stats really paint a picture of Helsley’s dominance in the backend of the Cardinals’ bullpen…
- Helsley became the first pitcher to 10 MLB saves on Tuesday.
- Helsley has pitched in every game the Cardinals have won to this point of the season.
Let’s explore both of those achievements further.
Helsley earned his 10th save on Tuesday after the Cardinals rallied back 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader in Detroit. It was a game where the bats couldn’t figure out much against former teammate Jack Flaherty, but St. Louis rallied for both runs in the ninth inning.
Moments later, Helsely shut the door on a win with a clean ninth inning, striking out two and only needing 10 pitches.
Helsley became the first pitcher to reach 10 saves on Tuesday, though it didn’t take long for someone to match that. San Diego’s Robert Suarez picked up his 10th save just a few hours later. Still, he and Helslely co-lead Major League Baseball in that department heading into May.
The other aforementioned stat might be even more impressive, depending on who you ask. The Cardinals begin the new month just below the .500 mark with 14 victories. To this point, Helsley has worked at least an inning in every game they have won this season.
Perhaps that’s mostly coincidental to this point, but that trend says a lot about how much Helsley is valued in high-leverage situations. The Cardinals have yet to win a victory by more than four runs this season. To qualify for a save, Helsley would need to protect a lead of three runs or fewer over the final inning. That’s the situation he’s entered more times than not. And more times than not, he’s delivered.
“I definitely feel like this is the year for me, being one of the older guys now, to be someone the guys can lean on,” said Helsley during the Cardinals’ Winter-Warm Up event in January. “I feel like I can be a mentor for them, and help them any way I can. Being back there with Gio [Gallegos], just try to go out there and lead by example.”
Helsley said one of his biggest priorities heading into the season was being able to cover multiple innings or pitch in back-to-back games when the need arises.
“I think that’s something I can do. I feel like, for me in the past, it’s been a guy who can throw multiples and does that [pitch in back-to-back outings]. I feel like whichever one they want me to do, I can be that guy. If they want me to throw every day, I can be that guy. If they want me to throw multiples, I can be ready for that. I just want to help the team win. That’s all I care about, I want to help the guys win in any way, shape or form. and try to be ready any way I can.”
Helsley has pitched in back-to-back nights four times already this year, but has not really been asked to cover multiple innings in a game to this point.
Beyond Helsley, the Cardinals bullpen seems to have bounced back from a tough stretch last season. Their 3.87 ERA as a unit ranks among the top half of teams and is almost a full run down from last year.
In many cases where the Cardinals have used Helsley, there’s two other names also answering the call: JoJo Romero and Andrew Kittredge.
Prior to Tuesday’s doubleheader, the trio of Helsley, Romero and Kittredge pitched in each of the Cardinals’ last four wins. That’s been the case for four other St. Louis victories prior to that point.
“We’ve been preaching this aggressive mindset since spring training started,” Kittredge told Bally Sports Midwest last week. “I think that’s kind of led to a lot of success we’ve had early. I think if we continue that, it’s just going to get better.”
The Cardinals conclude a roadtrip Wednesday with the Detroit Tigers after splitting a doubleheader on Tuesday. St. Louis enters May with a 14-16 record and 4.5 games back of the NL Central lead.