Ryan Fernandez's emerging role, Thomas Saggese's tough spot and more

MILWAUKEE — Upon his return to the majors with some momentum from how he’s performed recently in the minors, former setup right-hander Ryan Fernandez’s role will emerge first from what the Cardinals need and how he performs.

“You kind of inch your way toward that sixth, seventh inning based on the lane,” manager Oli Marmol said. “Set up him for success and see where he takes it.”

MILWAUKEE — Ivan Herrera took issue with the 98-mph fastball that went up and in, buzzing near his head, and that was just the beginning of the Cardinals irritation with Milwaukee reliever Abner Uribe.

What happened a few batters later Herrera would call “disrespectful.”

St. Louis has landed a team in a new women's professional softball league, though the team will only play a limited schedule this summer in its debut season.

The St. Louis Gatekeepers plan to eventually play a full schedule in the new Professional Softball League that features teams from Kansas City, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

MILWAUKEE — The Cardinals will reach the end of their road trip looking for their first RBI base hit since Saturday.

On a journey complicated by rainy weather, it’s the Cardinals offense that’s gone cold.

MILWAUKEE — Outfielder Lars Nootbaar will continue his rehab assignment and relocate this week to Class AA Springfield. That puts him ever closer — geographically as well as health-wise — to the majors.

Nootbaar, who is recovering from offseason surgery to address pain and rigidity in both heels, is expected to be in the Springfield Cardinals' lineup as early as Tuesday night. The S-Cards host Wichita at Route 66 Stadium on a night they're calling "Tarps Off Tuesday" and offering $2 tickets.

MILWAUKEE — The fourth slider that Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore was about to throw Christian Yelich in the first inning was exactly the kind of pitch in that situation he's been working to avoid.

Opposite Milwaukee’s rising ace Jacob Misiorowski and his flirtation with a no-hitter Monday against the Cardinals, Liberatore continued what’s becoming a notable upshift in his game. For the second consecutive start, Liberatore set a career high for strikeouts, reaching 10 for the first time and doing so against one of the lineups that strikes out least in the majors. Yet, it was a negative that helped prove the positive trend.

Down in the lowest level of the Cardinals farm system, Jacob Odle made a name for himself over the last few weeks. The right-hander's recent performance got him promoted from Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals to High-A Peoria on Tuesday. 

Across his last four outings, 6-foot-5 starter Odle has allowed just two runs for the Cardinals.

MILWAUKEE — Cardinals prospect Brycen Mautz described his Sunday morning at the team hotel as “pretty stressful” as he prepared for what could be his big league debut. Once he got to the ballpark and started moving around, started preparing, a familiar rhythm took over, and the anxiety began to fade.

“I’m sure it would have smacked me again as soon as I got on the field,” he said.

Hi everyone, Post-Dispatch baseball writer Daniel Guerrero here with the weekly Cardinals beat report question-and-answer.

After a soggy weekend in Cincinnati, the Cardinals are in Milwaukee, where my teammate and friend Derrick Goold is on-site for coverage for the National League Central division series. The trip to Milwaukee continues the Cardinals’ four-series stretch vs. a division opponent. That stretch concludes back here in St. Louis with a weekend series vs. the Cubs.