Max Meyer (8-0, 2.80 ERA) opens this 3-game series at Busch Stadium against Michael McGreevy (3-6, 3.35 ERA), and the gap in current form between these 2 starters is significant. Meyer stepped away for personal reasons on June 22 and didn't even lose a rotation turn — he takes the ball with 5 days of rest and momentum that hasn't stopped since Opening Day.
Since June 1 alone, Meyer has gone 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA and a 28-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 4 starts. He became the 3rd pitcher in Marlins history to win his first 7 decisions in a season — joining Livan Hernandez and Dontrelle Willis — and then went out and made it 8-0. Miami's rotation has been gutted by injuries all year, but Meyer has been so dominant that the Marlins have the lowest ERA in the majors this month despite missing multiple starters.
The Cardinals enter this series out of sync. St. Louis dropped 2 of 3 to Arizona, got blown out 9-4 in game 3 Wednesday, then watched Thursday's series finale get wiped out by weather before a pitch was thrown. McGreevy has been the steadiest piece of the Cardinals rotation this season, but his recent run has been rough — a 5.34 ERA over his last 6 outings with 2 or fewer strikeouts in 4 of those starts. His June 19 start at Kansas City was the low point: 5 innings, 8 hits, 5 earned runs. He needs a better outing to have any chance against a Miami lineup led by Otto Lopez (.344 average, best among qualified hitters in the majors) and Kyle Stowers, who has 3 home runs in his last 4 games.
- Day-To-DayThomas White SP — White was diagnosed with a left shoulder capsular sprain Friday and is expected to miss the rest of the season, Isaac Azout of FishOnFirst.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILLiam Hicks C — Hicks is awaiting MRI results on his injured lower back, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.
- BereavementMax Meyer SP — Meyer (bereavement) is expected to start Friday in St. Louis, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILJanson Junk SP — Junk (shin) threw a pitch-design session Friday and could be cleared to face hitters in live batting practice during the upcoming week, MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILJosh Ekness RP — Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said Monday that Ekness is expected to miss approximately six weeks due to a right calf strain, Kyle Sielaff of Marlins.tv reports.
- 60-Day-ILAndrew Nardi RP — The Marlins transferred Nardi (ribcage) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.
- 60-Day-ILRobby Snelling SP — Snelling underwent internal brace surgery Friday to repair a torn UCL in his left elbow.
- 60-Day-ILRonny Henriquez RP — The Marlins placed Henriquez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.
- Day-To-DayBryan Torres LF — Torres was scratched from Wednesday's matchup against the Diamondbacks for unspecified reasons.
- Day-To-DaySem Robberse SP — Robberse (elbow) has been sent to the Cardinals' Florida Complex League affiliate to begin a rehab assignment.
- Day-To-DayPacky Naughton RP — Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DayVictor Santos RP — The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayIxan Henderson SP — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson RP — The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.
- 15-Day-ILRyan Fernandez RP — Fernandez (back) is on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
- 60-Day-ILRamon Urias 3B — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Miami's injury list is long but most of those losses are already baked into how the team has operated for weeks. Robby Snelling had UCL surgery in May, Thomas White is done for the year with a shoulder injury, Adam Mazur and Janson Junk are both sidelined — and yet the Marlins have posted a 14-4 record in June with a bullpen ERA of 2.54, second-best in baseball this month. On the St. Louis side, Bryan Torres is day-to-day after being scratched Wednesday, which limits what manager Oliver Marmol can do with his outfield against Meyer's deep mix of pitches. The Cardinals at home are capable of a big inning, but they haven't shown it consistently against top-end starters this month.