TORONTO聽鈥 Cardinals is clear when describing the biggest difference since he鈥檚 moved out of the bullpen and into a starting pitching role.
That difference, ironically, is the bullpen聽鈥斅爐hat is, the bullpen sessions he throws between starts.
鈥淭he bullpen is the most important thing for me as an individual,鈥 Pallante said on Sunday.
Pallante will make his 18th start of the season for the Cardinals on Monday. He鈥檚 been arguably the club鈥檚 most consistent starter in the second half of the season. This season as a starter, Pallante has gone 6-7 with a 3.90 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, a .241 opponent鈥檚 batting average, 6.9 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.78-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
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Pallante, who pitched out of the bullpen for part of 2022 and all of 2023, has shown enough this season to force the Cardinals to use a six-man rotation in the final weeks of the season.
When asked about Pallante this weekend, Cardinals manger Oliver Marmol stated declaratively that Pallante would not be going back to the bullpen this season and the club is "committed" to him starting the rest of the year.
At times during this season and last season, the Cardinals have shifted young pitchers Matthew Liberatore and back and forth from the bullpen and the starting rotation as well as up and down from the minors to the majors.
Pallante鈥檚 getting the benefit of a stable role this season.
鈥淲e鈥檝e done it with a couple guys now, and it鈥檚 always because of need over anything,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淟ike Libby, Pallante and others where they bounce back and forth. It easier to show up and know that I鈥檓 pitching every fifth day or I鈥檓 in the 鈥檖en and wrap my head around being available every day. Doing both, spot starting, it鈥檚 difficult. Especially for a young guy. Yes, that certainty of knowing what my role is is important. We just haven鈥檛 had the luxury of doing that based on depth.鈥
When the Cardinals added starting pitching options through trades or with veterans coming off the injured list, Pallante said publicly he鈥檇 do whatever he was asked to do.
With the end of the season approaching and Pallante鈥檚 spot in the rotation set for the final weeks, he was candid about how crucial the consistent schedule of being in the rotation has been.
鈥淚 really struggled in the bullpen trying to figure something out if something was struggling because you have to be available every day,鈥 Pallante said. 鈥淪o I really feel like that brings out the best in me, having that set schedule.鈥
His daily routine hasn鈥檛 changed 鈥減hysically鈥 very much since the last time he started regularly in 2022. He鈥檚 kept a similar routine as far as which days he works out, the days he goes 鈥渓ight鈥 on physical activity and he鈥檚 pretty similar in how he approaches conditioning his body.
The biggest difference to his routine has been how he approaches the 鈥渟kill training.鈥 That鈥檚 why the bullpen sessions are so vital. In the past, he always followed the same pattern in his between starts bullpen sessions.
鈥淣ow, if I pick out one or two things from my last game that I want to work on, then that鈥檚 what I throw 25 times,鈥 Pallante said. 鈥淪o for example, this week. Last week, I wasn鈥檛 commanding my four-seam fastball very well. I was spraying it all over the place. I threw six of 25 in the zone to lefties. This last bullpen, I threw 15 four-seams just for the mentality of: I鈥檓 attacking the zone against a lefty. That鈥檚 what I鈥檓 going to work on. I鈥檓 going to work on being through the middle and letting the ball move the way it moves.鈥
Pallante was adamant that being in the rotation and having time to work with the coaches as well as receiving input from the veteran starting pitchers has helped bring the best out of him.
Making those adjustments between starts was the element he sorely missed when he operated out of the bullpen as a relief pitcher.
鈥淔or me, it was too hard in the bullpen,鈥 Pallante said. 鈥淭here are some guys that are able to do it. I wasn鈥檛 able to.鈥
Which begs the question: Did that lack of time between starts to work on a particular pitch make Pallante shy away from that pitch when he was a reliever, or would he have to throw a that despite having a lack of confidence in it?
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit of both,鈥 Pallante said. 鈥淎 big thing is if my slider feels like crap and I don鈥檛 feel like I can throw it for a strike and I鈥檓 not throwing it for a strike, how am I supposed to practice throwing it for a strike when I have to be ready to pitch the next day? You can鈥檛.鈥
Mikolas turns 30 for 5th time
Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas logged his fifth season of at least 30 starts since 2018. He joined the Blue Jays鈥 Jose Berrios, New York Yankees鈥 Gerrit Cole, Atlanta Braves鈥 Charlie Morton, Seattle Mariners鈥 Luis Castillo, Washington Nationals鈥 Patrick Corbin and Philadelphia Phillies Aaron Nola for the most seasons of 30 starts or more in that span.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a source of pride for me,鈥 Mikolas said. 鈥淚 had the one season earlier in my career where I missed most of it because of some arm stuff. My offseason strength and conditioning, I take a lot of pride in being a pretty in-shape individual.
鈥淎 lot of the credit goes to the guys in the training room (head athletic trainer Adam Olsen) and (assistant athletic trainer Chris Conroy) and his staff in there and the guys in the gym as well (strength and conditioning coach) Lance (Thomason) and (assistant strength and conditioning coach) Frank (Witkowski). It鈥檚 definitely a village effort, keeping players healthy, but it does make me proud of all the offseason work that I do.鈥
Special guest speaks to Cardinals
Prior to Saturday鈥檚 game, the Cardinals welcomed motivational speaker, author and actor to their clubhouse in the Rogers Centre. Miller, who has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair, is a Toronto native.
He鈥檇 originally been slated to speak to the team in 50度灰视频 during their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in August, according to Marmol.
鈥淧erspective is always important,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淎t different points in the year, it hits a certain way.鈥
Despite his physical disabilities, Miller has hosted a radio talk show, appearing on Canadian sports cable giant TSN. He also appeared in the television series 鈥淒esignated Survivor.鈥