Helsley struck out two batters in a perfect inning to earn a save against Philadelphia on Monday.
Helsley threw nine of 13 pitches for strikes to retire the Phillies' 8-9-1 hitters in order and close out the 3-2 win. He's converted eight of his 10 save chances this season, including four straight. He coughed up at least one run in back-to-back outings April 26 and May 2, but has since turned in four consecutive scoreless innings. Helsley owns a 3.00 ERA with a 16:10 K:BB through 15 frames.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Escapes with seventh save
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Helsley gave up a hit and walked two batters in a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his seventh save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Nationals.
After retiring the first two batters in the ninth, Helsley loaded the bases but was able to escape the jam by getting CJ Abrams to fly out. The Cardinals closer has been putting plenty of traffic on the basepaths this year, leading to two blown saves in nine chances along with a 3.21 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 14:10 K:BB through 14 innings -- numbers which represent a significant step back from his dazzling 2024 campaign.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Notches sixth save
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Helsley earned a save against the Pirates on Monday, allowing two hits and striking out two batters in one scoreless inning.
Helsley entered in the ninth frame with St. Louis up by three runs, and he allowed the tying run to come up to the plate by allowing two singles. However, the veteran right-hander got Bryan Reynolds to strike out looking to escape the threat and notch the save. Helsley had just three saves and two blown saves in April, but he's off to a nice beginning of May with two saves through the first five days of the month.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Locks down save in Game 1
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Helsley allowed a hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning to earn the save in a 6-5 win over the Mets in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader.
The Mets pulled within a run in the eighth inning, but Helsley made sure their comeback fell short in the ninth. He had allowed three runs over his last two innings, including a blown save in his outing versus the Brewers on April 26. Helsley hasn't been at his best to begin 2025, pitching to a 3.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 11:8 K:BB while converting five of seven save chances this season. He was 49-for-53 in save chances in 2024, but for now, he is not being challenged for the closer role.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Blows save, picks up win
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Helsley (1-0) blew the save but collected the win Saturday against the Brewers. He allowed two runs on two hits and no walks with no strikeouts over an inning.
The St. Louis closer has allowed runs in just two appearances this season, both of which were his only blown saves. Helsley conceded a two-run homer to Jackson Chourio in the ninth before being bailed out by a walk-off shot from Nolan Arenado in the bottom of the frame. Despite sporting a respectable 3.60 ERA through his first 10 innings, Helsley has struggled with free passes (7.2 BB/9), which has led to a 4.73 FIP.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Notches fourth save
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Helsley earned the save in Friday's 3-2 win over the Brewers, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning. He did not record a strikeout or a walk.
Helsley was brought in for the ninth inning to preserve a one-run lead. He got around an Isaac Collins leadoff single by inducing a double play, and Helsley secured the save after Caleb Durbin lined out to center field. Helsley has recorded a save in three of his last four outings and has a 2.00 ERA and 1.56 WHIP over nine innings this season.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Notches third save
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Helsley earned the save in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Astros, working around a walk in a scoreless ninth inning.
Helsley has held opponents scoreless in six of his seven appearances this season while improving to 3-for-4 in save chances after leading the league with 49 saves in 2024. His ERA is down to 2.57, with a 1.57 WHIP and 9:6 K:BB through seven innings to start the campaign.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Quickly secures second save
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Helsley earned the save after allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning Friday against the Phillies.
Trea Turner brought the possible tying run to the plate with a leadoff single, but Helsley quickly put out the next three batters he faced on just six pitches to protect a 2-0 victory. The hard-throwing right-hander has blown one save and has struggled with his control to begin the season, posting a 1.67 WHIP and 9:5 K:BB over six frames, but Helsley has given up just two runs and remains St. Louis' go-to weapon in save situations.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Struggles with command
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Helsley allowed two runs on a hit and four walks in one inning during Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader against Boston. He struck out two and was charged with a blown save in the loss.
Helsley made his first appearance since April 1 and saw his first save chance since March 27. He threw just 16 of 37 pitches for strikes and failed to protect the 4-2 lead. St. Louis would go on to lose in the 10th inning. Helsley hadn't walked a batter this season through three innings, and Sunday was his first time walking multiple batters in an outing since June 24, 2024. His ERA jumped to 4.50, but he maintains a firm grasp on the Cardinals' closer role.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Impressive in first save chance
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Helsley struck out the side and allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against the Twins.
Helsley was called upon to protect a two-run lead and looked overpowering by touching 101 mph with his fastball to collect his first save of the season. He did surrender a two-out double to Harrison Bader to make things interesting, but Helsley proceeded to strike out Matt Wallner on four pitches to end the game. Helsley could be subject to trade rumors during the summer months, but he should be an elite closing option for the foreseeable future.
Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Still no contract extension talks
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Helsley said recently that he has not had any discussions with the Cardinals regarding a contract extension, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
While Helsley -- who will be a free agent after this season -- said he would "definitely be open" to talking about a long-term deal, he does not expect those discussions to occur anytime soon. The Cardinals will transition from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom as their president of baseball operations after the season and are not looking to add to their payroll right now, so an extension for their closer isn't at the forefront of their plans. Helsley will make $8.2 million in 2025 and is a good bet to be dealt at the trade deadline.
Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Showcases cutter Thursday
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Helsley appeared to make use of a cutter as part of his arsenal while throwing his first live batting practice of the spring Thursday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Helsley already looks to be fully ramped up in the early stages of the spring; the hard-throwing righty uncorked fastballs clocked at 98 mph for his first three pitches of Thursday's session. He also utilized his curveball and slider as part of his core three-pitch mix and complemented those offerings with a cutter, a pitch he's thrown just six total times during his six-year MLB career, per FanGraphs.com. Helsley will likely continue to experiment with his cutter throughout the spring before determining if he can command the pitch well enough to make it a consistent part of his repertoire heading into the regular season. Whether or not he ultimately expands his arsenal, Hesley shapes up as an upper-tier fantasy closer, coming off a brilliant 2024 season in which he recorded an MLB-leading 49 saves to go with seven wins and a 2.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 21.1 K-BB%).
Helsley agreed to a one-year, $8.2 million contract with the Cardinals on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
After leading the majors with 49 saves last season, Helsley has officially earned himself a $4.4 million raise heading into his final year of team control. The 30-year-old reliever also finished 2024 with a 2.04 ERA and 1.10 WHIP alongside a 79:23 K:BB, and he projects as one of the top fantasy closers entering the new year.
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