Wednesday, June 18

Thinking two steps ahead against an opposing hitter -- think: chess, not checkers -- Cardinals right-hander Phil Maton threw a ball-to-strike curve that started in the right-handed batter’s box, broke hard to the left and clipped the outside corner of the plate to surprise Milwaukee’s Sal Frelick for strike two.

While the Cardinals reliever was certainly trying to draw a strike with that pitch, ultimately it was just a setup for what was to come next.

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Then came a fastball that was “tunneled” to nearly the same spot as the curveball, and Frelick had to make the split-second decision to swing and try to protect the plate. Because that fastball ended up inches off the plate, Frelick missed and Maton had a key strikeout with the bases loaded that was the pitching equivalent of a Picasso.

A batter later, Maton was facing Jackson Chourio -- someone who burned Maton for a game-tying, opposite-field homer in the Wild Card Series when he was with the Mets last fall -- and he put on another pitching clinic. Over the first three pitches, Maton kept the ball off the plate and got one swing-and-miss. Then, mixing in a cutter that caught the corner for a called strike two, Maton threw a pitch that looked to be headed for the same spot, only it was a curve well off the plate to strike out the Brewers’ young star.

Those two examples of Maton’s almost next-level thinking -- and near-perfect pitch execution -- are examples of why the 32-year-old righty has crafted a nine-year MLB career and why he has been one of the Cardinals’ most reliable relievers. His sterling 2.05 ERA and .221 batting average against over 28 appearances speak to his effectiveness and consistency out of the Cards’ bullpen.

A thinking man’s pitcher, Maton gave some insight into how he approached the Frelick and Chourio at-bats with the bases loaded. Even though he didn’t have his best curveball, he was still able to keep both guessing and off-balance.     

“I’m just trying to tunnel those pitches,” Maton said. “Frelick is a good hitter, and I don’t want to double up curveballs. Regardless of getting swing-and-miss [for strike three], I wanted to show him something up to expand to spin after.

“Honestly, the curveball [to Chourio], I had horrible feel for it, and I was lucky to get a righty in the box because it forced me to finish the pitch. It felt off, but I felt fortunate to execute.”

In an offseason where the Cardinals uncharacteristically didn’t pursue marquee free agents, their only signing was Maton, a native of Chatham, Ill., who grew up a Cardinals fan. As it turns out, the signing of Maton was a stroke of genius because of his steady demeanor and his added motivation following an offseason that didn’t go as he had hoped.

“We knew that he could spin it, but the poise has been great,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “His ability to game plan, study the game plan and study the opposition is exactly what you would want everyone in your ‘pen mimicking as far as preparation goes. And then he does a really nice job of sharing his knowledge. He’s been an awesome fit for us.”           

At the heart of Maton’s success is a curveball that could rival any other spinners in baseball. How else could you explain Maton having a fastball that ranks in MLB’s bottom 3 percentile in terms of average velocity (89.4 mph) but him still possessing a whiff rate (34.8%) in the top 95 percentile and a strikeout rate (30.6 percent) in the top 90 percentile? This season, 156 of his 441 pitches have been curveballs, and his 35.4% usage rate with that pitch ranks 17th. Foes are hitting just .159 off his curve in 2025 and they haven’t cracked .200 off his curveball in five years.

• Phil Maton by the numbers

Cardinals pitcher Andre Pallante marveled: “It’s one of a kind, and I don’t think anybody has as good of a curveball as he does. That’s why he’s so good, and that’s why he’s been around so long.”

Maton said that growing up an Adam Wainwright fan had an undeniable effect on him throwing his curveball so well, but it wasn’t until his second MLB stop – with Cleveland from 2019-21 – that he was encouraged to throw the pitch more than ever.

Ultimately, it’s the hitter who tells him what to throw, Maton said.

“There have definitely been times when I've thrown seven, eight or nine [curveballs] in a row, but also times when I throw that many fastballs,” he said. “Each team prepares for relievers differently. I’m just trying to figure out what hitters are on. That changes batter to batter, game to game, series to series, and I’m just trying to be hyper aware so I can make the best pitch possible.”

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While Maton understandably leans on his elite curveball, other Cardinals pitchers specialize in other pitches. Among the starters, Erick Fedde throws the highest percentage of fastballs (64.1%) ahead of Pallante (62.9%), Steven Matz (60%) and Sonny Gray (54.1%).

JoJo Romero is the reliever who throws the most off-speed pitches at 20.8%, while Matthew Liberatore is the starter who relies on off-speed pitches the most at 13% (entering Tuesday).

When lumping sliders, sweepers, curveballs and knuckle-curves together, Kyle Leahy throws breaking balls at 51.4%, closer Ryan Helsley is at 50.2%, while Miles Mikolas (44%) and Gray (38.6%) are the starters who lean the heaviest on those pitches.

Gray’s sweeper, of course, is one of the most dominant and effective pitches in all of baseball. He throws that pitch 21 percent of the time, and foes are hitting just .165 against it.

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