There’s never a “right time” to have a losing streak.
But for the St. Louis Cardinals, this is practically the worst time to have a losing streak.
The are 2-8 in their last 10 games, have struck out 100 times, with an average scoring of 2.3 runs per game, and batted .211 with RISP. And their pitching, which has been top notch all season long, has an overall ERA of 5.79, while the starting pitchers alone have had an ERA of 6.00.
On Saturday, they lost twice, first losing 4-2 in what was a finish of a suspended game from Friday, and 5-1 in the regularly scheduled game.
For the regularly scheduled game, the starting pitchers were Lance Lynn (11-9, 3.12 ERA), and Anthony DeSclafani (8-10, 3.75 ERA).
St. Louis was able to get on board in the first inning, thanks to a single by Jason Heyward that scored Matt Carpenter, to make it 1-0. Unfortunately, not only was that the only run scored in the inning for St. Louis, it was the only run scored in the game for them, as the struggles at the plate continue to mount.
As for the pitching, Lynn did a solid job of keeping the Reds’ offense, which just a day earlier handed the Cardinals their worst loss of the year, at bay. Through the first four inning, Cincinnati was shutout. But all of that changed in the bottom of the fifth inning.
It began with a single by Eugenio Suarez. Tucker Barnhart followed that with a single of his own. Two outs later, former Cardinal Skip Schumaker hit his first home run since August of 2014, which suddenly gave the Reds a 3-1 lead. The veteran right-hander continued his recent string of struggling starts, with his final line of the evening being: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 Ks.
In the bottom of the seventh, a sacrifice fly by Joey Votto scored Brennan Boesch to make it 4-1 Cincinnati, and during the following inning, Barnhart singled to center, scoring Jay Bruce.
The Reds defeated the Cardinals 5-1, as Lynn’s record dropped to 11-10 on the season.
On Sunday, St. Louis will look to avoid getting swept by Cincinnati in a four game series for the first time since 2003.
Michael Wacha will get the start.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
