Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Tallies 18th save Tuesday
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Helsley notched the save in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Washington, allowing one hit and one walk with no strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning.
Helsley picked up save No. 18 on the campaign, and he's now tied with three other relivers for the fourth-highest mark in the National League. The 30-year-old right-hander had a very shaky stretch to open June during which he allowed one run in four consecutive outings to begin the month, but he's since settled back in nicely. Over his last six appearances, Helsley hasn't yielded a run while converting each of his five save chances.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Secures save No. 17
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Helsley struck out one and didn't allow a baserunner in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Saturday against the Cubs.
Helsley entered for the ninth inning with a two-run cushion and needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in order. The right-hander has now converted his last four save chances and has given up one run with a 7:0 K:BB across his past six appearances.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Cruises to 16th save
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Helsley recorded a save against the Guardians on Saturday, striking out one batter in a perfect ninth inning.
Helsley got a relatively easy save chance, as he entered in the ninth inning with St. Louis holding a three-run lead. He came through with a stress-free frame, retiring all three batters he faced on 11 pitches. This was Helsley's third straight scoreless appearance following a rough stretch to begin June in which he gave up at least one earned run in four consecutive outings. While he's had some struggles this season, Helsley is tied for 11th in the majors with 16 saves in 21 opportunities.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Holds on for 15th save
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Helsley picked up the save in Tuesday's 8-7 victory over the Cubs, allowing two hits in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out one.
June has certainly been a dicey stretch for Helsley, who's now yielded two knocks in five of his seven outings this month, but he was able to hang on for his 15th save Tuesday. The hard-throwing right-hander had blown three straight save opportunities prior to successfully converting his past two chances, so that should offer fantasy managers some optimism going forward. Helsey sports a 3.54 ERA and 33:12 K:BB over 28 innings, but his 1.46 WHIP looms as a cause for concern.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Secures 14th save
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Helsley earned the save in Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Helsley was called upon to protect a 5-4 lead in the ninth and needed just 10 pitches to secure his first save since May 31. It was an encouraging outing for the 30-year-old, who had blown three straight save chances and allowed a run in each of his previous four June appearances. On the season, he's 14-for-19 in save opportunities with a 3.81 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 31:12 K:BB across 26 innings.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Dealt with early-season toe injury
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Helsley dealt with a toe injury on his right foot early in the season that required an uncomfortable insert in his cleat, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The toe issue -- which first cropped up late in spring training -- threw off Helsley's delivery, resulting in less velocity and command. Helsley finished April having allowed four runs with a 10:8 K:BB over 10 innings. The 30-year-old suffered a third straight blown save Monday against the Blue Jays, but Helsley said he feels "great" now, and his velocity is back up, giving him confidence he can bounce back.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Takes third blown save
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Helsley allowed a run on two hits and a walk to take a blown save in a 6-5 extra-inning win over the Royals in Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader.
Helsley converted all nine of his save chances in May, allowing three runs over 11 innings with a 13:3 K:BB for the month. He struggled in his first appearance of June on Thursday after four days without taking the mound. Helsley has been far from elite this year, but he's still finding success with 13 of 16 save chances converted so far. He's added a 3.27 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 23:12 K:BB across 22 innings. His 4.9 BB/9 is well above the 3.1 he posted last year, which largely explains his occasional struggles with run prevention in 2025.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Converts 12th save
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Helsley allowed two hits in a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 12th save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Orioles. He did not strike out or walk a batter
Helsley faced the top of the Orioles' order and worked around two singles to secure the victory. The 30-year-old has converted all eight of his save chances in May, though he's allowed at least one hit in eight of 10 appearances this month. On the year, he's 12-for-14 in save opportunities and owns a 3.15 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 21:11 K:BB across 20 innings.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Holds on for 10th save
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Helsley registered the save in Friday's 4-3 win over Arizona after allowing two runs on two hits and no walks in the ninth inning. He struck out one.
It wasn't easy for Helsley, who hung a curveball in the strike zone that left the yard via a two-run homer by Gabriel Moreno. The hard-throwing right-hander was still able to hold on and preserve the victory, successfully converting his 10th save in 12 opportunities on the campaign. Helsley's 1.47 WHIP is a bit concerning, but he does have a respectable 3.71 ERA and 17:10 K:BB over 17 frames and remains St. Louis' go-to weapon in the ninth inning.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Notches ninth save
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Helsley picked up the save Saturday against the Royals. He didn't allow a baserunner or record a strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.
Helsley retired the side in order on 12 pitches as he delivered his sixth straight scoreless outing to tally his ninth save of the campaign. The right-hander's 1.44 WHIP is still a bit high, but overall he's been effective early in 2025 with a 2.81 ERA and 16:10 K:BB over 16 innings.
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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: 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 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: 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: Settles with Cards
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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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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Move to rotation not considered
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The Cardinals are not mulling a move to the rotation for Helsley, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
All 239 appearances for Helsley at the major-league level have come in relief, but he came up through the minors as a starting pitcher. While there has been some speculation the Cardinals might consider giving the 30-year-old another chance to start, it does not appear that is in the plans following Helsley's major-league-leading 49 saves in 2024. They will, however, reportedly entertain trade offers for Helsley, who is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Sets franchise record
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Helsley allowed a hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 6-3 win over the Giants.
Helsley set the Cardinals' single-season saves record at 49, surpassing Trevor Rosenthal's 48 from 2015. Helsley has posted a 6.2-inning scoreless streak with seven saves since he took a blown save Sept. 3. The closer is at a 2.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 79:23 K:BB through 66.1 innings this season. Helsley's recent workload has been manageable, so it seems likely he'll have an opportunity to go for the 50-save mark if a chance arises in the Cardinals' last two games.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Notches save No. 48
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Helsley earned a save Wednesday, inducing a double play on the only pitch he threw against the Rockies.
St. Louis carried a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth frame, but Matthew Liberatore gave up a leadoff homer to Brenton Doyle and issued a one-out walk to Michael Toglia to prompt Helsley's entrance in a save situation. Helsley didn't take long to extinguish Colorado's hopes of a comeback, as Sam Hilliard grounded into a game-ending double play on the right-hander's first pitch. The save was Helsley's league-leading 48th of the campaign, and he has an outside chance of reaching 50 with four games remaining on St. Louis' schedule.
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Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Collects save Sunday
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Helsley threw a perfect inning and earned a save against Cleveland on Sunday.
Helsley retired Cleveland's 1-2-3 hitters in order on 11 pitches to close out the 2-1 victory. He moved back ahead of Emmanuel Clase for the solo MLB lead with 47 saves. Helsley has converted five save chances in a row since blowing one in Milwaukee on Sept. 3, and he has not allowed an earned run since Aug. 6. He owns a 2.09 ERA with a 77:23 K:BB through 64.2 innings. Helsley could become the first closer to reach 50 saves since Edwin Diaz in 2018.
