As the Cardinals have lost four consecutive games and been cut adrift from the wild-card lead, they have found scarce opportunity to use their four primary, late-inning relievers and none for Hicks. The rookie righthander with the game’s fastest sinker has been absent from the homestand. He’s not thrown a pitch in the first six games, his longest layoff of the season. He warmed up Friday night in part because he had not been on the pitching rubber and “wanted to feel the mound again.”
Before returning home for this homestand, the Cardinals recast some of the late-game roles.