CINCINNATI -- The weather is finally starting to heat up, and so are Miles Mikolas and Masyn Winn, who are thriving in the warmer temperatures.
Mikolas threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings and Masyn Winn hit two home runs while batting No. 2 in the order for the first time in his MLB career as the Cardinals thumped the Reds, 6-0, in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
To make the day even more significant for St. Louis, when Victor Scott II, Lars Nootbaar and Winn homered late in the day, it was the 10th time in the 143-year history of the Cardinals that they had hit back-to-back-to-back homers, but it was the first time they had done so in the ninth inning.
“Just knowing that the game could potentially be won and that was a big swing,” Scott said of the outward emotion he showed after his three-run homer to start the long-ball barrage in the ninth. “Then it was just exciting seeing all the guys come back in [to the dugout] after their home runs.”
Mikolas, a South Florida native, and Winn, a South Texas native, have started playing their best baseball of the season recently. Pitching at a stadium that had given him big problems in years past, Mikolas held the Reds scoreless, surrendered just three hits and didn’t allow a runner to reach third. Combined with the six scoreless innings he pitched last Wednesday in Atlanta, Mikolas ran his scoreless streak to 11 1/3 frames.
Throw out a battering of nine runs (eight earned) in 2 2/3 innings in chilly Boston on April 6, and Mikolas would have a sub-2.50 ERA. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in five of his six outings.
“I’m happy with the way the season started, except for the Boston [outing],” Mikolas said. “I’m happy with how my fastball command has been, and maybe it had a little more life to it with the warm weather hitting. Atlanta and today were the only games where I’ve had to work up a sweat, because it’s been so chilly early in the season. I think that’s big, and being from Florida, I favor the warm weather and humidity a little bit.”
Winn started the season in an 0-for-20 skid and was hitting just .222 when he went on the 10-day injured list on April 12 because of back spasms -- an injury where he thinks cold weather in St. Louis, Boston and Pittsburgh played a part. Prior to the Cincinnati series, Winn had a 5-for-14 (.357) stretch that allowed for his movement from No. 9 to No. 2 in the order.
Winn said it’s no coincidence that his bat has heated up as the temperatures have started to climb.
“You know, early in the year, when it’s cold out, I think pitchers have the advantage, because it just sucks hitting when it’s cold,” Winn said. “But we’ve got to go out there and fight. But yeah, with warm weather, I feel like I thrive in that a lot more.”
After struggling much of the past two seasons and in Boston early in the season, Mikolas has turned around his 2025. His past two starts have given him consecutive scoreless outings of five innings or more for the first time since May 2023.
“That Boston outing kind of snowballed on him, but outside of that, he’s done a really nice job,” said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, who shared a moment with the veteran pitcher upon lifting him in the sixth inning. “He’s continuing to mix well with some early contact and some weak contact, but he’s been really good. He’s pitching to chase locations, and he got a couple of strikeouts today up top. So, it’s all looking positive for him.”
The 36-year-old Mikolas thinks the Cardinals’ move of adding Steven Matz to the starting staff for a six-man rotation has aided him. Not so much because of the extra day of rest it offers, but instead because it allows for his weight room and bullpen sessions to feature more intensity on off-days.
“Just being able to go with a little higher effort and not having to worry about throwing too many pitches and being tired or overworking myself when I’m searching for something has been big,” Mikolas said. “Sometimes, on the five-day [rotation], I have to cut that bullpen short. Having that extra day gives you extra time to fine-tune some things.”