Cardinals will use latest bullpen savior in similar role while he's here

Chaim Bloom has made multiple aggressive moves to push the St. Louis Cardinals to the next level, and they have already paid off. After Bloom promoted two hot hitters from Memphis, Hunter Dobbins was recalled to provide a fresh arm to a struggling bullpen. The righty responded by covering 3.2 innings of relief behind Matthew Liberatore, and that is the plan that Oli Marmol had in mind for Dobbins.

The stellar performance by the offseason acquisition earned Dobbins his first professional save, pitching out of the pen for the first time this season. This was Dobbins' second positive performance in the majors this year after being used as a spot starter at the end of April. With him showing out in each of his opportunities, Marmol will attempt to keep him on a prescribed schedule to keep him stretched out.

Hunter Dobbins provides needed support to inconsistent rotation

In the first two games of the Cubs series, the starters did not make it past the fifth inning. Andre Pallante made it through three traffic-filled innings in game one before Kyle Leahy was pulled after 4.1 innings on Saturday in an effort to keep the game under control. This left Marmol with a used-up bullpen going into Sunday's rubber match, with Matthew Liberatore also struggling the deeper he goes into games. However, the timing could not have been more perfect for Dobbins' bullpen debut.

When facing the lineup for the third time, Liberatore has a 13.00 ERA and allowed six extra-base hits and nine walks for a 1.238 OPS against him. Marmol and his staff are obviously aware of these struggles, as the lefty has only finished six innings twice this season and maxed out with 25 batters faced in a game. Because of his efficiency on Sunday, Liberatore only faced 20 hitters through 5.1 innings but with the meat of the Cubs order coming up, Marmol went to Dobbins.

The move was met with some instant skepticism, with many wishing that Liberatore would have the opportunity to notch a quality start and keep positive momentum. This frustration was validated immediately, as Dobbins allowed a solo homer to the first batter he faced. That was a small blip in an otherwise stellar outing that ended with the Cardinals winning the series against the Chicago Cubs. Through the final out of the game, Dobbins scattered four hits, struck out four hitters and threw just 61 pitches while well rested.

Rather than be sent down for a replacement like the Cardinals did with Brycen Mautz earlier in the week, Dobbins will make his next appearance on a big league mound. The lengthy outing means that Dobbins is out of commission for at least a couple days, but with him giving the rest of the bullpen the day off on Sunday, everyone should be ready to go in relief. After his outing, Marmol and his staff will again assess the schedule and performance before determining where Dobbins will pitch next.

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