MIAMI — The Cardinals suffered their 50th loss of the season on Tuesday – and suffered is the right word to describe the blowout loss to the Marlins in Miami.
At least one player, and perhaps two, were headed to the injured list after the game.
Adam Wainwright got the start, and 10 pitches into the bottom of the first inning, the Marlins led 3-0. It would get a lot worse.
Wainwright allowed four runs before coming out of the game with one out in the fourth, leaving the bases loaded, and all three inherited runners scored after JoJo Romero took over on the mound.
The deficit grew to 15-0 before the Cardinals scored twice in the ninth – with Marlins catcher Jacob Stallings pitching.
The loss dropped the Cardinals to 35-50 on the year – only the third time in more than 100 years that the Cardinals have lost 50 or more of their first 85 games. They were also 35-50 in 1990 and 33-52 in 1978.
Manager Oli Marmol said after the game that Wainwright would be returning to St. Louis for a medical evaluation and would be placed on the injured list because of right shoulder discomfort. The Cardinals have been outscored 38-3 in Wainwright’s last three starts.
Catcher Andrew Knizner was injured by a foul tip and had to come out of the game because of a groin injury. He was being examined at a Miami hospital after the game and there was no immediate report on his condition, according to Marmol.
Here is how Tuesday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals were shut out on just five hits until the Marlins brought in Stallings to pitch in the ninth, getting four consecutive singles and a sacrifice fly for their two runs … Willson Contreras was the only Cardinal with two hits, with a double and single, but he was picked off second base after his double in the second.
On the mound: After giving up a single, double and home run to the first four hitters he faced, Wainwright was able to get out of the first and retired seven batters in a row before allowing a home run with two outs in the third. A hit batter and back-to-back walks with one out in the fourth ended his day … The three runs charged to Wainwright after he left the game were all unearned because of a fielding error by Romero … The Marlins increased their 7-0 advantage with four runs each in the seventh and eighth innings. James Naile allowed the eight runs in 1 1/3 innings before Alec Burleson made his second pitching appearance in the last week, giving up the final two of the Marlins 19 hits while recording the last two outs.
Key stat: Wainwright has allowed six or more runs in each of his last three starts and pitched less than four innings in each game. The only other starter to have such a streak of three consecutive starts was Michael Wacha in 2016, who gave up a total of 20 runs in 12 innings over three starts in May 2016.
Worth noting: The 15 runs were the most the Cardinals have ever allowed in 213 all-time games against the Marlins. The 19 hits were the second most in a game, after a 22-hit game on June 15, 1994 when the Cardinals lost 13-3 … There was no immediate announcement about who would replace Wainwright on the roster, whose next start was supposed to be on Sunday, the final day before the All-Star break, or if there would be other roster moves before Wednesday’s game … Tyler O’Neill was scheduled to DH for Memphis on Tuesday night at Indianapolis in the first game of his rehab assignment.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals did not immediately name a starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game against the Marlins, a decision perhaps connected to who will replace Wainwright on the roster.
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