Leahy didn't factor in the decision Thursday at Pittsburgh after giving up a run on three hits and no walks over two innings. He struck out three.
It was another short start down the stretch for the right-hander as the Cardinals managed his workload to close out his first season as a big-league starter. Leahy lasted fewer than five frames in his final six starts of the year, but he still finished with a 10-5 record with a 3.66 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 132:41 K:BB across 140 innings. That innings total is the 29-year-old's largest since 2022 in the minors -- his last season as a full-time starter -- and should set him up nicely to be a key rotation piece and avoid workload limitations late in the 2027 campaign.