Cardinals' Kevin Siegrist: Searching for control, velocity in early going

Siegrist, who pitched a scoreless inning in Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Yankees but issued two more walks, is suffering from both control problems and reduced velocity thus far in 2017, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "A little slow getting going," manager Mike Matheny said of the lefty. "At the end (of spring) he was getting close. He'll find his rhythm. He's a feel guy, and he feels a little off right now. He's working to fight to make big pitches in big situations. We're going to get him some consistent work."

The 27-year-old has now put together back-to-back scoreless one-inning appearances, but he's also issued a pair of free passes in four straight trips to the mound. Siegrist has experienced reduced velocity as well, notching just four swinging strikes over 90 pitches and averaging 92.6 mph on his fastball, a drop of nearly one mile per hour from a season ago. Fatigue could be at play, as only four pitchers have appeared in more games than Siegrist's 153 since the beginning of the 2015 season. However, absent any setbacks, Matheny appears ready to afford Siegrist his customary workload this season, which could lead to double-digit holds for what would be a fifth consecutive campaign.