JUPITER, Fla. • As the Cardinals have sought ways to help Miles Mikolas take the success he had in Japan and translate that to a new dimension in the majors, pitching coach Mike Maddux had the idea Tuesday to eliminate one bothersome aspect of Mikolas’ recent outings.
No one was keeping score.
On a back field Tuesday morning, the Cardinals added a curious twist to Mikolas’ between-start work by having him throw live batting practice instead of a bullpen. He faced a handful of the Cardinals' minor-leaguers, including Dylan Carlson. The righthander swapped “innings” with Bud Norris just as he altered the sequence and use of his pitches.