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The answer manager Oli Marmol gave when asked about what the latest Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect did to overpower the Cardinals was as succinct as it was revealing.

“One hundred,� he said.

As in miles per hour.

Bubba Chandler, this year’s flame-throwing Buc fresh out of the minors, pitched four scoreless innings of relief Wednesday to buy time for his club to upend the Cardinals’ lead and win 2-1 at Busch Stadium. Chandler blitzed the Cardinals with a fastball that reached 100 mph seven times, and he threw 30 of the game’s 31 fastest pitches. He walked one batter, hit another batter, allowed one hit and joined a growing list of pitchers who eagerly and aggressively challenge the Cardinals with fastballs.

They’ve seen the second-most fastballs of any club this month, and in the past few weeks, they’ve faced five of the top 12 pitchers when it comes to average fastball velocity. That was before dealing with Chandler, a rookie yet to throw enough pitches to qualify for the rankings.

When he does, it will be six of the top 13 for the Cardinals.

“If you look at our production against fastballs, it’s not very good, and they kept throwing them, yes,� Marmol elaborated. “You look at some of the guys in our lineup, and that’s been their struggle – just production on the fastball. It’s not a secret, and guys continue to ramp that up against us, and we have to figure out a way to combat that and start to move forward.�

The game’s score hinged around a mishandled and confusing play at first base. Cardinals starter Sonny Gray was superb on the mound but missed a toss from Willson Contreras at first that put the Cardinals’ early 1-0 lead in jeopardy. Gray (12-7) had five perfect innings in his seven, and he whisked through an aggressive Pirates lineup by spinning curves and landing cutters. He did not allow a third ball to reach the outfield until the 18th Pirate he faced.

But two of the ground balls he got proved costly.

With two on and no outs in the sixth inning, Gray got a grounder to first baseman Contreras. The first baseman looked toward second, but he was blocked by the base runner. So Contreras turned to flip the ball to Gray at the base. Gray had his head down and did not see the flip. The ball rolled near his feet — and the Pirates had the bases loaded with no outs. Tommy Pham skipped a grounder up the middle to bring home two and reverse the Cardinals’ lead.

“Weird play,� Gray said.

He said the inning was loaded with “some wacky stuff.�

“We just don’t have a whole lot of room for error,� Marmol said. “We have to play near perfect and take advantage of mistakes in order to win right now.�

In part, that’s because the offense has been inconsistent recently and capable of a sudden cold snap. Especially against heat.

Chandler (1-0), a top 10 prospect in all the minors this season, followed Carmen Mlodzinski’s three innings as the Pirates’ starter. Mlodzinski held the Cardinals to one run on three hits, and he struck out four. He reached 97 mph with his fastball. Mlodzinski and Chandler combined for seven strikeouts in their seven innings, and they threw 99 pitches.

Fifty-one of them were four-seam fastballs.

Twenty-nine of those were 98 mph or faster.

This season, as a team, the Cardinals have the fifth-lowest slugging percentage of any team against all fastballs, at .396. (Pittsburgh has the worst, at .383.) The Cardinals rank 20th in batting average against all fastballs, at .257. Baseball Savant’s Statcast database can peel away the cutters and sinkers, and doing that shows how the Cardinals have the fourth-worst slugging percentage against four-seam fastballs, at .399. Their on-base percentage is a sturdy .343, which ranks 12th in the majors.

But as the velocity starts to climb, the Cardinals begin to see their slugging sag.

They have the third-best average in the majors against fastballs at 98 mph or faster — hitting .264 and slugging .357. That slugging percentage plummets to .263 against fastballs at 100 mph or faster.

“It’s how you practice,� Marmol said when asked how to improve against heat. “I think when you have a routine that doesn’t lend itself well to producing against the fastball, you have to make the adjustments and practice seeing it and responding the way you’re supposed to. There are several things you can do as far as underneath, in the cage, to improve that part of that game. At times, it’s uncomfortable.�

The equipment the Cardinals have to work on fastballs in the cages include a high-velocity pitching machine and the high-dollar Trajekt that mimics specific pitches.

The drills hitters use to prepare and improve against velocity include cranking the velocity machine and sometimes scooting up in the box to shorten the distance, cut into the reaction time and simulate an even faster pitch than they’ll see in a game. Another practice the Cardinals have is changing the angle of the pitching machine so that it comes from where a shortstop would be standing or a second baseman. That has the feel of a crossfire pitcher — but it also challenges the hitter by leaving less time to make true, hard contact.

A left-handed batter facing the velocity pitching machine from the second base angle must be quick to get the barrel squarely on time to the pitch.

“When you think about practice, a lot of guys want to practice in a way that makes you feel good,� Marmol said. “When it comes to producing against the fastball — that velocity — sometimes you’ve got to practice in a way that sucks. You are practicing harder than what you’re going to experience in a game and that’s uncomfortable. But that’s one way to get better at it. It’s something that isn’t going to happen overnight.�

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Pedro Pages’ RBI single. In the third, Ivan Herrera singled to put runners at the corners with one out. Mlodzinski then struck out the Cardinals’ two leading hitters — Alec Burleson and Contreras. The right-hander got ahead with 97-mph fastballs and finished each strikeout with a change-up.

Contreras has been one of the Cardinals’ best against heat, with a .504 slugging percentage on fastballs. No Cardinal has seen more four-seam fastballs that Masyn Winn, and he’s slugging .406 against them. Burleson slugs .500 against fastballs. Others have struggled, like Herrera’s .326 slugging percentage on fastballs or Thomas Saggese’s .258 slugging and Jordan Walker’s .203 average. Third basemen Nolan Arenado and Nolan Gorman have hit .217 and .216 on four-seam fastballs this season, respectively.

That practice to improve also comes in games, and the Cardinals have had plenty of swings recently at some of the league’s swiftest fastballs.

In August alone, the Cardinals have faced San Diego’s Mason Miller (101.2 mph average) and Robert Suarez (98.5 mph), Tampa Bay’s Mason Montgomery (98.7 mph) and Joe Boyle (98.6 mph), and Colorado’s Victor Vodnik (98.7 mph) and Chase Dollander (97.8 mph).

During this four-game visit from Pittsburgh, they’re missing last season’s Pirates power sensation Paul Skenes, who averages 98.2 mph on his four-seam fastball and 97.7 mph on his sinker. And in Cincinnati this weekend, Hunter Greene (99.4 mph) is not scheduled to start.

Chandler gave the Cardinals plenty of looks at velocity to compensate.

“His stuff was good,� Marmol said. “Our overall production, collectively as a club, against the fastball needs to improve.�