Ricky Horton said it best at the end of the game: “Unfortunately the Cardinals are not playing very good baseball right now.”
The Cards lost to the Blue Jays 6-3 on Saturday, which puts them once again in peril of being swept for the third time in the past two weeks. They are now 3-11 in their last 14 games.
Want some even worse numbers? While still in second place in the NL Central, the Cards are now two games behind the Brewers … and the Pirates are only three back. As are the Reds, but — yes. The Pirates are 39-37, have won four straight and are only one game behind the Cards in the Central.
The Cardinals actually took a 1-0 lead in the first inning Saturday night. The game seemed like it was off to a promising start when Ryan Theriot and Jon Jay hit back-to-back singles — Matt Holliday coming up with two on and none out? Good things should happen. But, remember, this is 2011. So Holliday did what ’11 Cardinals (and especially those batting in the No. 3 spot in the order) do too often: grounded into a double play. At least Theriot scored.
That lead held all the way to the third inning. While Ricky Horton conducted a very entertaining and informative interview with Cards first-round draft pick Kolten Wong on TV, Jaime Garcia got into a little trouble that mostly wasn’t discussed on the air.
Walking the opposing pitcher is never good. But when it’s an American League pitcher — you know, a guy who only bats in National League parks? Very bad. Then Jaime walked Yunel Escobar. The two advanced on a ground-out, which brought up Jose Bautista. You know, the home run guy, who thankfully was intentionally walked. Still, three walks in the inning. We could breathe a tiny sigh of relief when Adam Lind then hit a sacrifice fly — only one run.
Next, however, J.P. Arencibia hit a grounder to Daniel Descalso at third. He fielded it, but threw high to Lance Berkman at first. LB did a great job of jumping to catch it, and touched the bag right before Arencibia did. The umpire, however, saw it differently and called him safe. Next up: Juan Rivera, who of course hit a homer, because there are more Blue Jays than Bautista who do. That made it 5-1 Jays.
Those were the only runs Jaime allowed, and four of the five were unearned. That meant his ERA at Busch Stadium is still fantastic, 0.88, even though he got the loss — his first at home this season.
The Cardinals scored a run in the fourth on a single by Yadi, and had a great chance in the eighth when they again had both Theriot and Jay on with no outs and Holliday up. Yet he was called out on strikes on a very questionable call (actually, just a bad one) and subsequently tossed from the game. So, LB up as the tying run with only one out … and he too played like a 2011 Cardinal: yet another GIDP.
As the Cards are struggling overall, so is LB at the plate. His average has gone from .318 on June 14 to .304 now. He’s hitless in seven games this month. And, as Tom Orf pointed out on Twitter, the Cards are 0-7 in those games. While he is doing well playing first base — and has really made some nice stops there — a day off for him today would be good, especially since the Cards are off on Monday again.
Ryan Franklin pitched the eighth and ninth innings for the Cardinals. He was great in the eighth, getting three outs on only six pitches (and thanks to a fantastic diving catch by Dirty Dan). In the ninth, he gave up a lead-off homer to Edwin Encarnacion. Sigh.
June has obviously been a terrible month for the Cards — maybe all those Mondays off wasn’t such a good idea after all. But, thankfully, June is almost over.
Here are a couple of good news stories to cheer us up. Kolten Wong is now officially a Cardinals minor leaguer, having signed a contract on Saturday. He’s headed to the Quad Cities. (Yay!)
Also, Adam Wainwright is scheduled to throw on Monday for the first time since his Tommy John surgery in February. Yes, he has a very long way to go … but it’s still great to read that he’s taking this step forward. And we need all the good news we can get right now.
Christine Coleman is the senior St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball. Follow her on Twitter, @CColeman802, or email aaronmilesfastball@gmail.com. Also follow @AMilesFastball for the latest updates.
As of this moment (with the Cardinals losing today, yet again), they’re 8-14 in June, only a half-game better than the inept Cubs.
Opponents have scored 24 more runs than the Cardinals this month.
And until the Cardinals get Freese back and hitting well, and somehow convince Holliday and Berkman that it’s still April and May, this team is going to sink even further in the standings, and quickly.
But, hey, sunshine and puppies.
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Sunshine and puppies what?
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