Cardinals starting pitcher Shelby Miller failed to go six innings for the second straight start and for the fourth time in nine starts Monday against the Padres. The right-hander continues to be plagued by high pitch counts.
Miller exceeded 100 pitches for the third time in four May starts and for the fifth time this season.
"Throwing 20 pitches every single inning is not what I'm here to do," Miller said, per MLB.com. "Facing a good hitting offense on a big league club, it's not going to be easy to just throw it and have then swing at it every single time. Something I have to realize is to get the ball around the zone and hopefully things happen better."
Outside of the complete-game shutout he threw May 10, Miller is averaging more than 17 pitches per inning in his eight other starts.
"There are some nights where they're picking it up a little bit better and fouling it off," manager Mike Matheny said. "They're still not squaring up a lot of them. I think taking some shots down in the bottom of the zone more often may be part of the way to help him because the foul balls are typically the ones at the top."