Down a run and looking to hold the Chicago Cubs in the ninth inning late Tuesday night, the Cardinals turned not to the pitcher they normally would in that spot but to Rule 5 pick Matt Bowman.
The rookie righthander has seen an upgrade in his recent assignments, and a reason behind it is the team’s attempt to reboot reliever Seth Maness.
The Cardinals’ usual righthanded setup reliever has gotten one out in each of his past three appearances, and with a run allowed in two of them saw his ERA inflate to 8.31.
Bowman struck out two in the ninth-inning assignment and his ERA dipped to 1.