With late grandmother on his mind, Leahy shines in return to home state

DENVER -- Any time he’s shagging batting practice in the outfield and tossing baseballs up to young fans, Cardinals relief pitcher Kyle Leahy will always seek out the shy, unassuming kid in the background and make sure the child goes home with a souvenir.

That moment always sling-shots Leahy back to a time when his grandparents, Mike and Ruth Leahy, had season tickets near the end of the Rockies’ dugout, and the painfully shy Longmont, Colo., native would stand in the background as Hall of Famer Todd Helton tossed balls into the crowd.

“We had really good seats, right by the camera boxes at the end of the Rockies dugout,” Leahy recalled. “I liked watching [Troy Tulowitzki], obviously, and [Nolan] Arenado was good when I was in high school and into college. But, I always remember Todd Helton coming off the field and tossing the ball into the stands, but he never threw it to me because I was too quiet.

“So, that’s why I always try and look for the quiet kid now when I’m tossing baseballs into the crowd.”

Now 28, Leahy had Ruth on his mind Tuesday night as he was one of the few bright spots for the Cardinals in an 8-4 loss to the Rockies. Ruth, who had been unresponsive for weeks and hadn’t eaten in approximately 12 days, passed away at 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Still, Leahy pitched through the grief of losing his grandmother and struck out a career-best seven batters over 3 2/3 innings of work.

Kyle, who talked to his grandmother over FaceTime during the MLB All-Star break and visited Ruth in the assisted living center on Monday night, is convinced that his grandmother was holding on until he returned to his home state.

“She hadn’t eaten for, I think, 11 or 12 days, so I think it was pretty obvious that she was waiting for us to get here,” Leahy said of a grandmother he described as “fiery” because of how she would yell at umpires and referees when he played youth basketball. “I didn’t block [her death] out and I just kind of embraced it, knowing that someone’s there watching me. I had plenty of people here watching me, but obviously there was someone else watching me from somewhere else.”

Leahy’s stellar performance in the face of unspeakable grief brought some perspective to another poor outing for veteran right-hander Erick Fedde, who surrendered seven hits, six earned runs and two long home runs in three innings. Fedde, who hasn’t won a decision since May 9, admitted afterward that his confidence is at “an all-time low” after repeatedly failing to keep the Cardinals in games.

“The truth is I’ve been awful and I’m putting the team in terrible spots, giving up runs early and putting the [Cards’] batters in tough spots,” he said. “Confidence, for sure, an all-time low. I’ve had lows and highs in this game and I’m just trying to be professional, show up every day and give it my best. The team deserves better and I’m trying to pick it up.”

Finally an established big leaguer while working to find his footing in 2023 and ‘24, Leahy has shed his quiet kid image and evolved into one of the Cardinals’ most effective relievers. In a team-high 40 appearances and a bullpen-best 55 innings, Leahy is 2-1 with 12 holds and a 2.95 ERA.

Leahy’s 49 1/3 innings before the break were the most in Cardinals’ history for a reliever. He has recorded four-or-more outs 20 times this season, which places him second in the big leagues in that category. On Tuesday, he became the first Cardinals reliever with at least 3 2/3 innings and seven strikeouts since Tyler Lyons at Baltimore on June 17, 2017.

“I think [his success] has more to do with his overall demeanor and his aptitude because he’s always looking for what’s next and the tough conversation about where he can improve,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Even when he had a bit of a downturn where he wasn’t getting swing and miss, he was starting to understand what he could change to get that and we’re seeing it now.”

On Tuesday, Leahy wanted to dedicate the game to Ruth, a grandmother who would bring him to those games at Coors Field and stoked his love of baseball.

“I have lots of memories with them coming to games and my grandparents always had Rockies games on at their house all throughout the season,” Leahy recalled. “She yelled at umpires and yelled at referees when I was playing basketball. She yelled at coaches, who were my dad and granddad. She was fiery like that, but also nurturing and caring.”