Gray’s status for Cardinals

Gray has been dealing with a hamstring injury that he suffered during spring training. He’s a highly-anticipated player for the team, as he signed a three-year, $75 million contract with St. Louis last November. The hurler is throwing in the bullpen on Saturday, but is not ready to be upgraded from the team’s injured list. He is eligible to be removed from the list on April 9. No decision has been made on whether to remove him then, per The Athletic.

Gray spent the last two seasons with the Minnesota Twins. He picked up 16 victories while he was in the Twin Cities. He finished the 2023 season with a 2.79 earned run average, after appearing in 32 games. Gray is a journeyman, who has spent his time in the MLB with several franchises. The Cardinals are expecting a heavy load of innings this year from the pitcher, with his first season in a Red Birds uniform.

Nootbaar has also been having issues staying healthy. He had hurt his ribs during the offseason, which has kept him off the diamond for St. Louis. Nootbaar has been playing for the team’s triple-A franchise is Memphis, as he works to rehabilitate himself. The outfielder has struggled to hit well, but is expected to play Saturday for Memphis and be a designated hitter on Sunday, per The Athletic. The team seems to be closing in on upgrading him back to the full roster.

The Cardinals are already thin in the outfield, as Dylan Carlson has also been out hurt. The team has used Victor Scott from their farm system to fill in gaps. The Red Birds would certainly love to have Nootbaar back very soon, and they may get their wish. Nootbaar could come back to the team as soon as Monday, per CBS Sports.

Nootbaaar has played his entire MLB career in St. Louis. The outfielder finished the 2023 season with a .261 batting average, on a career-high 426 at-bats. He smashed 14 home runs, and drove in 46 runs for the Red Birds. The team finished the year with a disappointing 71-91 record, which is not acceptable to fans of the team who have come to expect success.

The Cardinals are in action Saturday in a series against the lowly Miami Marlins. The first pitch is at 2:15 Eastern. St. Louis is 4-4 on the season so far. The Marlins have yet to win a game this season.

Marlins fall to Cardinals in 9th straight loss to open season

The winless Miami Marlins, who are off to the worst start in the franchise’s 33-year history, dropped their ninth consecutive game on Saturday, losing 3-1 to Steven Matz and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Iván Herrera and Brendan Donovan each had two hits for St. Louis. Jordan Walker contributed an RBI double.

Matz (2-0) surrendered four hits in five scoreless innings. Ryan Helsley pitched the ninth for his third save.

“I thought my fastball was working really well,” said Matz, who threw 85 pitches. “I’d definitely like to go deeper into the game. Bullpen did a great job. It was a good win.”

The Cardinals turned two double plays. Through nine games, St. Louis has not committed an error.

“Guys are continuing to play really good defense,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “Details matter. They’re making it important.”

Miami’s Trevor Rogers (0-1) was charged with three runs, two earned, and five hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked three.

“They’re finding holes and they’re finding grass. … My stuff feels good. It just didn’t go my way,” Rogers said.

The 0-9 Marlins are the only winless team in baseball. The New York Mets, who dropped their first seven games, beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Thursday for their first win.

Baltimore holds the big league record with 21 losses to start the 1988 season.

“It always starts with starting pitching,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “No one ever has lost from a shutout before but that’s asking a lot. I think collectively all together, we have to figure it out. I’m not telling people to do more than they can do. I don’t need one guy to carry the team. We’ve talked. We don’t need any more talking.”

Miami has lost 10 consecutive games dating to last season. It has dropped 13 of its past 16 at Busch Stadium.

“We’ve got to find ways to win,” Schumaker said. “That’s the tough part. We have to figure it out pretty soon.”

The Cardinals scored two runs in the fourth. After Herrera singled and Nolan Gorman walked, Walker doubled down the left-field line. Walker was called out at second, but the call was overturned after it was challenged by St. Louis.

Gorman was thrown out at home on a grounder to third, but Walker scored on an errant pickoff throw to first by Rogers.

“That mental error — the pickoff move — can’t happen,” Rogers said. “Got to make that play. It’s something I’ve done since I was a little kid.”

The Marlins have allowed 10 unearned runs this season.

St. Louis added a run in the fifth. Herrera singled home Donovan, who led off with a double.

“Little things add up to big things,” Donovan said. “Everybody’s showing up and pulling on the right end of the rope.”

Miami scored in the eighth against Andrew Kittredge. Luis Arraez doubled and scored on a single by Josh Bell, who had two hits.

“Other than that, we just couldn’t get anything going,” Schumaker said.