TORONTO -- Miles Mikolas went back to basics.

For five strong innings in the Cardinals¡¯ 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday, Mikolas pitched with the awareness of a veteran. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it was enough to highlight the value of trusting what¡¯s made him good in the past.

The version of Mikolas that showed up at Rogers Centre was more recognizable than the one that yielded seven runs (six earned) in two innings vs. the Mariners his last time out.

¡°You always want to have some form of a bounce-back, where he feels good about it and he comes out of that game feeling good about his outing,¡± said manager Oliver Marmol. ¡°So, yeah, I would say it was good to see.¡±

Success starts with understanding who you are and what the situation calls for. For Mikolas, that means getting ahead early and living on the edges for weak contact.

The right-hander ran with that game plan in the series finale. Mikolas struck out four Blue Jays over five innings, allowing three hits and no walks with one hit batter.

A couple of middle-middle offerings in the early going could have taken this outing in a different direction, but Toronto couldn¡¯t capitalize and Mikolas stayed anchored to his plan.

It worked until the fifth.

After working a 1-2 count, Mikolas grazed Spencer Horwitz with a sinker to put the leadoff man on base. Then he left one over the heart of the plate, which Davis Schneider promptly clobbered for a two-run homer. As soon as that ball hit the bat, Mikolas crouched on the mound, frustrated about missing his spot.

¡°[I was] trying to try and keep that ball down right there,¡± said Mikolas. ¡°And I kind of just threw it right down the middle. This is a team that swings a lot, so I knew he was going to swing. And as soon as I saw that it wasn't going to be down, I knew that it wasn't going to be great pitch.¡±

More often than not this year, you¡¯d expect this to get away from Mikolas, but he stayed anchored to the task. A pair of well-located pitches -- and some help from Alec Burleson, who made a great catch on a liner to first base for the third out -- kept the Cards within striking distance and earned Mikolas some much-needed success.

He¡¯ll certainly take lessons from the good and the bad of an outing like this, but the road to consistency is more holistic.

¡°I¡¯m still working on the things that I've been working on and not just [abandoning] those,¡± said Mikolas. ¡°So just an overall approach, just trying to get better everywhere.¡±

Mikolas is far from his All-Star campaign in 2022, when he posted a 3.29 ERA over a career-high 202 1/3 innings to earn a contract extension the following offseason. After seeing his production take a step back last year, Mikolas has faced a sea of inconsistency in 2024.

That two-inning start against the Mariners on Sept. 8 was the low point of this roller coaster. Still, the Cardinals stuck with him, moving Steven Matz to the bullpen to make room for Lance Lynn¡¯s return, and giving Mikolas another starting chance.

¡°He's in a good spot mentally, he really is,¡± Marmol said on Friday. ¡°There's some things that he'd like to execute better, be more purposeful as to certain counts and what he's using in those counts. But for the most part, yeah, he¡¯s in a good spot.¡±

Mikolas is also ready to take the ball every five days -- as he has been for three years now.

Amid this up-and-down season, one thing that¡¯s remained remarkably steady is Mikolas¡¯ availability. He isn¡¯t on track for 200 innings like in ¡®22 and ¡®23, but Sunday marked his 30th start of the season, the third straight year he¡¯s achieved that mark.

¡°It's a source of pride for me, my health,¡± said Mikolas, who made sure to credit the Cardinals¡¯ training staff for his durability. ¡°It's definitely a village effort, keeping players healthy, but it does make me proud of the offseason work that I do.¡±

As St. Louis (74-75) falls farther out of postseason contention, these decisions matter beyond the present day. Mikolas is owed $18.5 million next season, the final year of his contract. A strong finish would give the Cards some data, as well as Mikolas some clarity as to where he stands.

Of course, there¡¯s plenty to happen between now and then, but the Cards are showing trust in their workhorse.