Trevor Rosenthal and Seung Hwan Oh navigated the eighth and ninth innings Tuesday at Busch Stadium just the way they used to. Rosenthal, who had taken a recent rocky turn as closer, had a perfect eighth and Oh, back to being the finishing pitcher, was likewise clean, striking out one as he seemed to have regained some of his movement.
Just like manager Mike Matheny had drawn it up at the start of the season.
The only problem with this scenario for the Cardinals was that they were losing by three runs at the time. Rosenthal’s and Oh’s late-game bullpen work meant little, just like that of John Brebbia, as starter Lance Lynn and lefthanded reliever Tyler Lyons were tagged for five runs in the sixth inning.