Phillies' Spencer Turnbull bids to take step forward vs. Cards

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Spencer Turnbull is trying to rev up his career after missing the 2022 season following Tommy John surgery and struggling in 2023 with neck and toe injuries.

That process will continue Monday night when Turnbull (1-0, 0.00 ERA) faces the Cardinals in the opener of a three-game series in St. Louis.

Turnbull won his first start of the season on Tuesday. He allowed one unearned run on three hits over five innings in the Phillies' 9-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter while working in blustery conditions.

"I was getting it over the plate and I was happy with that, especially as cold as it was out there," Turnbull said. "It was awesome. I loved every minute of it. Not ideal conditions. The weather was definitely weather. But it was a lot of fun."

This was the first time Turnbull didn't allow an earned run since throwing a 117-pitch no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers on May 18, 2021. His seven strikeouts were his most since he had nine in that game.

In Turnbull's only career outing against the Cardinals, he allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision.

The Phillies won two of three games over the Washington Nationals over the weekend while the Cardinals did the same against the Miami Marlins.

Philadelphia lost 3-2 to the Nationals on Sunday while allowing five stolen bases.

"They were just running first move," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "It's something we've got to pay attention to. It's something we've got to focus on because most of the time, our offensive power is going to be better than most teams. Our pitching power is going to be better than most other teams' offenses. So we have to control the running game because that's a big part of how teams beat us."

Right-hander Miles Mikolas (1-1, 6.10 ERA) will take the mound for the Cardinals on Monday.

After allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings in a 7-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 28, Mikolas rebounded in a 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres last Tuesday. He allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings while striking out four and walking one.

"It's no secret: I'm not striking a ton of dudes out," Mikolas said. "I'm getting some weak contact, a couple of broken bats, this and that. To have the defense there is great. We joke about it all the time. Give me a couple of runs and Gold Glove defense and, you know, win a lot of ballgames."

The Cardinals want their starters to work deeper into games this season.

"Keeping the bullpen fresh, being able to eat up innings when we need to," Mikolas said.

Mikolas is 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA in seven career appearances against the Phillies, including six starts. He has struck out 19 and walked five in 37 2/3 innings against them.

Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras has been sidelined since being hit on his hand by a pitch on Wednesday. He was a late scratch from the lineup Saturday and sat out again on Sunday.

St. Louis outfielder Lars Nootbaar could return in this series after recovering from cracked ribs. He has been at Triple-A Memphis on a rehabilitation assignment.

--Field Level Media