What good are the arms if the bats can't do their job? Another Cardinals loss left fans and the media wondering why runs are so hard to come by against inferior pitching?
After dominating the Royals on Monday in a 6-0 rout, the Cards proceeded to score just three runs over the final 20 innings of play. Pathetic when you consider the Royals had the worst ERA and highest amount of home runs allowed coming into the series. On Monday, the Birds exploited their weak arms, but wasted the chance the following 48 hours.
Here are five takeaways from a 5-2 loss that left the Cardinals with a 26-21 record, good for a pat on the back but a shake of the head as well.
5) Tommy Pham has eleven strikeouts in his last four games, but I'm not worried about him. He is hitless over his last twelve at-bats, but I trust he will find his way. The man works harder than anyone in that clubhouse and you could see the guy muttering to himself on the bench, quietly analyzing every pitch he missed. He did make a nice running catch to save a run in the game.
4) Francisco Pena is becoming a good story. Since Yadier Molina and Carson Kelly went down with injuries, Pena has been a solid presence behind the plate and produced at the plate, going 8-28 with three extra-base hits in his last seven games. Just another guy taking advantage of an opportunity. Pena also gets points for toughness after he stayed in the game following a foul tip off his knee. The pitch was thrown by Jordan Hicks, who has to be feeling bad right about now for indirectly hurting his catchers.
3) Why does Mike Matheny insist on pitching guys in his bullpen more than one inning? Bud Norris pitched a good ninth then ran into trouble in the tenth, leading to tie game to suddenly become a 5-2 Royals lead. Matheny told Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch he wouldn't push Norris more than an inning earlier this week, and then he did it.
2) Matt Carpenter slipped back into the "argue with the umpire for every close call" guy the past two games. After raising his average up over .200 and looking like the versatile hitter of old, Carpenter has slipped back into negligent land with a pair of flat performances at the plate. Swing the bat, dude. Sometimes it looks like Carpenter is legitimately trying to walk. With his bat, that's not a good idea.
1) Michael Wacha deserved better, pitching 6.2 innings with just two runs allowed. He struck out six and walked no one, lowering his ERA to 2.88. The right-hander is becoming a consistent force, offering at least five innings with three or fewer earned runs allowed in his last nine starts. In other words, he's holding up.
What's going on? The Cardinals can't generate offense and unless Dexter Fowler gets a pulse, Carpenter becomes more consistent, or Marcell Ozuna starts to slug everything, the lineup will be uneven and in trouble. Overall, they are below average in production at the plate, ranking 18th in batting average and 19th in OPS in baseball. That's weak sauce.
They are 26-21 due to strong starting pitching giving them a chance almost every time out. The Cardinals need more offense or the Pittsburgh Pirates will bury them this weekend.
Thanks for reading,
DLB