ST. LOUIS -- Miles Mikolas, the Cardinals' most consistently effective starting pitcher all season despite a modest 7-7 record, is heading to the All-Star Game.

Mikolas, 33, was chosen to replace Brewers ace Corbin Burnes, who was scratched from the National League roster. Coincidentally, Mikolas has lost twice this season to Burnes in high-profile pitching matchups.

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Mikolas¡¯ appointment to the game once again gives the Cardinals four players on the NL roster after third baseman Nolan Arenado decided to skip the Midsummer Classic because of lingering lower back pain. Mikolas will join first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, reliever Ryan Helsley and Commissioner¡¯s legacy pick Albert Pujols on the roster.

¡°We¡¯re seeing a really good version of Miles, so we have a lot of confidence in him for sure,¡± Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Mikolas. ¡°The record doesn¡¯t show what he¡¯s done. He¡¯s been really good for us, and at times we haven¡¯t given him a whole lot of run support, but he¡¯s also gone against some of the best guys in the league and he¡¯s held his own. So, he¡¯s done a really nice job for us.¡±

Mikolas was picked as an All-Star in 2018, but he was unable to attend that game because his wife, Lauren, was due to deliver twins. Daughter, Madelyn, and son, Miles, were born on July 16, 2018, the day before that year's All-Star Game. The Mikolas family also has two other children -- 5-year-old Lillianne and 6-month-old Rhett.

Out all of the 2020 season and most of 2021 with a flexor tendon injury in his right forearm, Mikolas has rebounded well this season. He ranks fifth in the NL in ERA (2.54) and third in innings pitched (120 1/3).

Mikolas has pitched somewhat in tough luck all season. He threw 8 2/3 innings of no-hit baseball against the Pirates on June 14 until pinch-hitter Cal Mitchell broke up the gem. In another outing on June 9, Mikolas threw an 85-pitch complete game, but the Cards lost, 2-1, to Rays ace Shane McClanahan. Mikolas has also lost games this season when facing aces Max Scherzer, Merrill Kelly and Burnes twice and getting little run support.

¡°Sometimes, we score a lot of runs and sometimes we don¡¯t,¡± said Mikolas, who allowed just three hits and a run over seven innings in an 11-3 defeat of the Reds on Saturday. ¡°Sometimes you give up a bunch of runs and the offense has your back. It¡¯s tough sometimes, but that¡¯s baseball. I think [Jacob] deGrom won a Cy Young with a losing record, didn¡¯t he?

"We¡¯ve been swinging the bats pretty good all year and sometimes the timing isn¡¯t there, but more importantly -- for me, at least -- our defense has been super consistent. If we weren¡¯t such a great defense, my ERA might be a little higher. I think the second half is going to be really good for us.¡±