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That scenario, described a few hours before the game’s first pitch, depended on how the game played out against Pittsburgh’s ace Paul Skenes. The possibility was one in which Marmol expressed some eagerness to see, as it would give a glimpse of what rookie Gordon Graceffo could do in a role new to him.

What was described came to fruition.

After Alec Burleson’s two-run double off Skenes in the sixth inning put the Cardinals up one run to support Matthew Liberatore’s strong start, Steven Matz secured a hold in the eighth inning. With closer Ryan Helsley and fellow righties Phil Maton and Kyle Leahy unavailable, the 25-year-old Graceffo received the first save opportunity of his big-league career.

Making his fourth big-league appearance of the season and his sixth total at the level, Graceffo retired three batters on six pitches to seal a 2-1 win at Busch Stadium against the Pirates. The effort secured a series victory. It notched the Cardinals (18-19) a fourth consecutive win as they were backed by a trio of growing players they anticipate being factors for them over the long run.

“It worked out exactly the way we talked about,” Marmol said. “Matz gets his lane up at the top, and then Graceffo closes it out. Three young dudes that are going to be a part of this moving forward contributed at a really good level today. That was fun to watch.”

The first of the Cardinals’ three “young dudes” who played a part in Tuesday’s win began his impactful outing with a sharp first inning.

Liberatore, 25, struck out the first two batters he faced on six pitches. Following a walk to Andrew McCutchen and a single by Ke’Bryan Hayes, Liberatore struck out Alexander Canario, swinging, on a slider to end the inning.

The left-hander followed the scoreless first frame by keeping the Pirates scoreless through his next four innings of work. He struck out four batters, three of whom went down swinging, and kept the Pirates to no hits and one walk in that span. Liberatore’s cutter and slider combined for seven of the 17 whiffs he got in the start.

“The slider, cutter — I think those have been huge for me,” said Liberatore, who lowered his ERA to 3.07. “It's the same pitch I've been throwing for the last four or five years. I think just my ability to execute it and throw it where I want to and have it have the effect I'd like to see has been the difference maker for me.”

Hayes was responsible for the lone run allowed by Liberatore. He doubled home Oneil Cruz with two outs in the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie. His double put Skenes in a position for a shutdown inning as he limited the Cardinals to one hit, three walks, and collected six strikeouts through five frames.

To break through against the reigning National League rookie of the year, two-out production in the form of a single from Nolan Arenado and a walk by Willson Contreras put runners on base for the hitter in the majors with the most success against Pittsburgh’s ace.

After striking out on six pitches in the second inning and grounding out on one pitch in the fourth, Burleson drove the first pitch he saw in his third at-bat vs. Skenes down the left field line for a double that scored Arenado and Contreras. Burleson’s hit was his sixth in 15 at-bats against Skenes, who has kept hitters to a .196 batting average in 31 starts since his debut. The six hits from the 26-year-old Burleson are the most Skenes has allowed to a single hitter in the majors since he debuted in 2024.

“There is no secret (to hitting Skenes). It takes a little bit of luck, I feel like,” Burleson quipped. “But no, it's just with a guy like him, you have to have a plan and stick to it for three, four at-bats. It may not necessarily give you success that night, but it gives you the best chance to have success. That's what I did and it worked out.”

A shutdown seventh inning to hold onto the momentum created by Burleson began with an eighth strikeout to match a career-high for Liberatore (3-3). It ended with a flyout that marked a season-high in innings as he outlasted Skenes.

“You've got two really good arms going at each other with good stuff,” said Marmol, whose club is responsible for four of Skenes’ seven career losses. “To outlast (Skenes) and do what (Liberatore) just did tonight, (Liberatore) should walk away with a ton of confidence.”

Primarily a starter throughout his time in the minor leagues, Graceffo was recalled from Class AAA Memphis on Monday for the series opener between the Cardinals and Pirates. Graceffo, the Cardinals' minor league pitcher of the year in 2022, arrived set for a role as a short-burst reliever.

He provided an initial look from that setting with a scoreless inning in Monday’s series opener. His return outing recorded him the second win of his career less than a week after his five innings of relief against the Reds earned him his first win.

In what he believes was his first time at any level pitching on back-to-back days, Graceffo induced a pair of groundouts and a lineout to notch another career milestone.

“It's been unreal,” Graceffo said. “It's all happened really, really fast. I'm still trying to soak it in. It's been an incredible couple of days. It's been nice sharing it with my teammates and my family. I'm just looking forward to what's coming next.”