Kyle Leahy strikes out six in defeating Phillies

Leahy and four Cardinals relievers had the team in line for a victory before closer Riley O’Brien imploded, allowing six runs in the ninth. The notable takeaway is that Leahy was pulled at 63 pitches, and St. Louis has made it clear his workload will be managed down the stretch. He’s up to 126 1/3 innings this season after throwing 88 in 2025, the vast majority out of the bullpen. St. Louis’ rotation recently suffered injuries to Hunter Dobbins and Andre Pallante, so it remains to be seen how the Cardinals handle Leahy going forward. His next start lines up at home against the Pirates.

The outings are getting shorter for Leahy, but it hasn’t stopped him from going 3-0 while pitching the bare minimum of 15 innings this month. He’s 5-0 since his last loss way back on June 17. He’s currently slated to face the Phillies on Sunday, but the Cardinals could consider adding a spot starter and pushing him back to Tuesday.

Leahy brought his swing-and-miss stuff to this one. Each of his changeup, curveball, slider and sweeper forced multiple whiffs as he wound up with 14 total swings-and-misses on the night. That was just two off his season-high and he’s been on a heater lately with a 1.49 ERA, 40 strikeouts, and nine walks over his last eight starts spanning 42 1/3 innings. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Phillies at home.

A little run support would have been nice for Leahy, who has allowed just four earned runs in his last 18 innings of work but doesn’t have a win to speak of over that span. The righty did his part to hold the Jays in check, but exited after six innings with the game deadlocked at 1-1. The lone run he allowed came in the sixth inning after he allowed back-to-back doubles to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto to start the frame, with Vladdy coming around to score on Okamoto’s double. He earned only one win in July, but fantasy managers won’t be mad at the 1.38 ERA and 0.88 WHIP leahy provided on the month. He’ll look to stay hot in his next start, which is scheduled for Wednesday against the Yankees.

The runs came on homers from Elly De La Cruz and Ke’Bryan Hayes. It’s actually as many runs as Leahy had allowed in his last five starts combined. Leahy’s previous high for strikeouts was eight, which was also against the Reds back in May. He’ll pitch in Toronto next weekend.

Jo Adell homered in the third for the only run of Leahy. The right-hander allowed just two other hits, walked none and struck out four. He’s given up a total of two runs over 25 1/3 innings in his last five starts, one of which was halted by rain after three innings. There are obvious concerns about his workload going forward, as this is his first year back in the rotation after three seasons in the pen, but he’s cruising at the moment. He’ll face the Reds this weekend.

Leahy allowed one hit, walked none and struck out two before the nearly three-hour delay. He ends the first half 7-4 with a 3.86 ERA and a 73/33 K/BB over 86 1/3 innings. He spent the previous three years pitching in relief, so in order to keep his workload in check, the Cardinals might return him to the pen down the stretch. He figures to remain a starter for at least the next several weeks, though.

Leahy was excellent against the Cubs on Saturday, holding them scoreless over five innings. He scattered three hits and two walks, throwing 45-of-77 pitches for strikes and collecting six strikeouts. He’s now allowed just one run total over his last three starts. The 29-year-old right-hander will look to keep it going when he takes a 3.86 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and a 73/33 K/BB ratio across 86 1/3 innings into a start against the Brewers in St. Louis on Thursday.

Leahy allowed a ground-rule double to Graham Pauley in his fifth and final frame, and that was it. The 29-year-old has been outstanding as of late, and he’s given up just one run over his last two outings while lowering his season ERA to 4.09. He struck out five in that solid effort, and he issued just one free pass. Leahy will look to keep the good run going in a scheduled start Saturday against the Cubs.

Leahy gave up three hits, walked two and struck out three. He was able to shut down the Diamondbacks offense on Tuesday, but it’s hard to believe in his skills with only three strikeouts and an 18 percent strikeout percentage this year. Leahy has a 4.24 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Marlins at home this weekend.