Cardinals continue to spiral in latest series loss: ‘We lose in different ways every game’

ST. LOUIS — The home clubhouse at Busch Stadium was quiet late Sunday afternoon, save for the squeak of shower shoes on bathroom tile and sneakers shuffling out of the room. Muffled voices from player interviews provided the only type of conversation that took place, and even then the discourse was minimal.

What was there to say? The Cardinals lost their rubber match game 4-3 to the Reds. Jordan Hicks came to a tie early in the eighth inning and promptly got the better of Elly De La Cruz, who has less than a week of major league play but could already be the fastest player in the major leagues. It was Hicks’ seventh league-leading leadoff walk this season, and it hit him and the Cardinals almost instantly. A groundout and passball propelled De La Cruz 180 feet before hitting the game-winning run with a groundball that never made it past the infield grass.

But at this point in the season, the Cardinals’ troubles extend well beyond another late-inning free pass. After winning the first of three games, St. Louis lost a crucial divisional series to the Reds. The Cardinals have not won their last six series. They’re 12 games under .500, firmly in last place in the National League Central. They tirelessly searched for solutions to their spiral. Nothing worked. If anything, her disturbing search for answers has only led to more questions.

As their season nears potential derailment territory, the Cardinals are tasked with doing the seemingly impossible. The general consensus – from pitchers to players to management – is that they need to play perfect baseball. It’s a daunting task for any team, even those at the top of the table. But for St. Louis, it’s just reality.

“We have to be perfect now to win,” said manager Oli Marmol. “It feels like we can’t go wrong because the other team has found a way to capitalize on it every time. We can’t do without extra outs or a leadoff walk – we have to do better.”

“Everyone feels like they have to be perfect,” agreed Adam Wainwright after conceding three runs in 5 2/3 innings and being burdened with the non-decision. “Pitchers feel like they can’t give up runs. Batsmen feel like they have to drive in runs. And when you focus on that all the time, the focus gets diverted from execution and performance.”

Perhaps this illustrates no better statistic than the Cardinals’ performance with runners in goal position. Throughout the series, the St. Louis batsmen scored 2:22 in this situation, leaving 25 runners on base. Whether it was making a run with a small ball, incorporating situational shots, or hitting the ball, the Cardinals failed to create momentum with runners on base.

“Just not very well,” said Nolan Arenado, who hit two homers and a triple 5 of 11 on the series, a bright spot on offense. “I don’t know how else to describe it. Last year we found ways to win. This year we find ways to lose. That’s the biggest difference right now. It is up to us to make a difference.”

“Every time we make a mistake, someone capitalizes on it,” he added. “You feel like you have to be perfect because they’re constantly capitalizing on that.”

Do you sense a theme here?

Marmol wasn’t denying the Cardinals’ poor performance in scoring situations, but he did point out that the batsmen’s approaches to the plate weren’t anything out of the ordinary.

“From an approach perspective, there’s nothing you can show that’s outside of the norm,” Marmol said. “Let me say, when you’re in the same depth of crisis as we are and there are phases where things aren’t looking good and you’re trying to get out of there, there might be even more pressure to be the one who does it.” does. But in terms of approach, I feel like I have faith in our guys and the way they’re going about it. We just didn’t make it.

“It was not good. I think we all pointed that out. This is the difference between where we want to be and where we are. Our ability to actually get a big hit with runners in goal position and then continue to build that momentum… we have to find a way to make that happen. If we’re going to get out of there and actually start playing good baseball, the bottom line is that we need to put some runs in those situations.”

But given the Cardinals’ overall strength, what’s the use of blaming one area for the underperformance? The Cardinals are one loss short of their 40th loss. You have played 66 games. Her season seemed to be a huge disappointment from the start. The squad has not lived up to expectations and unless there is some change in their development there is a risk that things could go haywire.

“We’re all very upset with the way things are going,” Wainwright said. “We keep showing up and expecting it to be different and it doesn’t stay that way. … The only common denominator we have is that we find ways to lose. We lose every game in different ways.”

Wainwright’s last sentence could well be the Cardinals’ nickname this season. Many teams fell short of their predictions for the start of the season, including other playoff favorites like the Padres, Mets, Phillies and Mariners. But none could match the Cardinals’ disappointment.

In fact, the only way to stop the Cardinals from falling seems to be to play perfect baseball. But their last series defeat showed how far they are from perfection.

(Photo by Elly De La Cruz: Zach Dalin / USA Today)