ST. LOUIS — The two biggest problems for the Cardinals’ offense this season merged into one on Monday at Busch Stadium.
The first problem was that the Cardinals were facing a lefthanded starter for the Mets, Sean Manaea. It’s not exactly a well-kept secret about how much the Cardinals have struggled to hit against lefthanders this season.
The second problem, which also has been noted more than once, is how much – or more accurately how little – the Cardinals have hit with runners in scoring position.
When those two areas were added together on Monday, the result was another loss as the Mets won the makeup of a game that was rained out in May.
It was the 16th loss for the Cardinals in their last 24 games when the opposing team started a lefthanded pitcher. They did get six hits in seven innings off Manaea, but five of them were singles.
When they did get a runner to second base, the Cardinals went 0-of-7. They left five runners at second, none of which were able to advance to third, as they were shut out for the fourth time this season.
It was the fourth loss in the last five games for the Cardinals, who fell to just one game above .500 for the season at 57-56. They are six games behind the division-leading Brewers and 3 ½ games out of a wild-card playoff spot.
Here is how Monday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The only extra-base hit for the Cardinals was a double by Nolan Arenado in the second … They had just one hit after the fourth inning, a one-out single by Masyn Winn in the fifth … Paul Goldschmidt was 0-of-4, extending his current slump to 15 hitless at-bats … Willson Contreras was 0-of-3 and has just two hits in his last 20 at-bats.
On the mound: The Cardinals trailed 1-0 after four innings, thanks to a run-scoring wild pitch from Andre Pallante, before the Mets pulled away with four runs off Pallante in the fifth, including a bases-loaded, three-run double by Tyrone Taylor. Former Cardinal Harrison Bader drove in the first run of the inning with a double … Jeff McNeil homered off Shawn Armstrong in the sixth for the final Mets run.
Key stat: The big four righthanded hitters in the Cardinals’ lineup – Tommy Pham, Contreras, Goldschmidt and Arenado – were a combined 2-of-12 off Manaea with four strikeouts.
Worth noting: Lance Lynn was scheduled to be re-evaluated by the Cardinals’ medical personnel on Monday and the results of that exam will help determine Lynn’s schedule for resuming baseball activities but he likely will miss at least two more starts … The Mets had to fly to St. Louis on Sunday night after a game against the Angels in Los Angeles, they then turned around and left after the game to fly to Denver to begin a series on Tuesday night against the Rockies before their road trip goes on to Seattle.
Looking ahead: Dylan Carlson and the Tampa Bay Rays will be in town to open a three-game series on Tuesday night. Sonny Gray will start for the Cardinals and Jeffrey Springs – another lefthander – is scheduled to start for the Rays.
