Cardinals fail to capitalize, drop series to Reds

It’s looking more and more like the brief hot streak in May was just a stroke of luck. This team is not good, and is more than likely going to be a seller at the deadline.

Adam Wainwright got the start today and pitched quite well until the sixth inning. That inning seems to be the one that kills him this year. But he was efficient and he kept the Cardinals in the game. For somebody who’s turning 42 in August, that’s not bad.

The offense was mostly flat again, especially Willson Contreras, who went 0-for-3. The Cardinals got a few in the second inning after falling behind 1-0 to take their first lead of the afternoon. After Elly De La Cruz tied it, Nolan Arenado put the Cardinals ahead. But Waino couldn’t hold the lead and was ultimately robbed of a chance to earn win No. 198.

Jordan Hicks was wild in the eighth and ultimately took the loss as the Reds manufactured a run. Let’s get into some takeaways from today’s frustrating loss.

Waino Does His Job

I know the line didn’t look great after he was done, but Adam Wainwright does appear to be making some strides. That’s encouraging for sure. The Cardinals still need him to go deeper into games and give up less than three runs, however.

But he still gutted out a strong performance against a team he has historically struggled against. He only walked one batter and struck out two and worked around eight hits to keep the Cardinals in the game. I know it wasn’t a great outing, but considering he’s almost 42, this certainly wasn’t bad.

Is the old Hicks back?

For the second time in three days, Jordan Hicks did not look good, which is frustrating considering that he had been pitching really well. But he kept missing the strike zone, which ultimately led to a few baserunners for the Reds.

Paul DeJong was unable to throw out Elly De La Cruz at the plate in the eighth, which ultimately resulted in the Reds taking the lead. But Hicks was wild everywhere he threw today, and looked a lot like his early season self, which is concerning.

The Cardinals are set to take on the Giants this week. Hopefully they’ll gain a bit of traction and grab a series win. But they have yet to win a series since the Dodgers were in town, and the Giants have been hot, so it doesn’t exactly bode well for St. Louis.

But again, hopefully they’ll surprise us.