Cardinals lose first series since April

The St. Louis Cardinals were only able to take one game from the Miami Marlins this past weekend. It was their first series loss since April. Take a moment to let that sit in. The team with the best record in baseball loses a series to the team with the very worst record in all of Major League Baseball.
Jun 15, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (31) throws during the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Image Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Has that sunk in yet? Because it needs to. The sooner we get this series out of our heads, the sooner we can move on to the next series.

Of the two losses this weekend, Friday was the closest to a win as the Cardinals dropped it 5-4 in Jake Westbrook‘s return to the rotation. Marlins starter Jose Fernandez threw, wait for it, ten strikeouts against the Cardinals. One does not expect that from the Marlins or the Astros.

With Westbrook returning to the team, Michael Wacha was sent back down to Memphis for more refining. Wacha should see some improvement while in Memphis as he awaits another call to the big leagues but I feel that he is ready. I felt that way when I saw him pitch during Spring Training on television.

On Saturday, Lance Lynn picked up his 9th victory of the season when the Cardinals had a 13-7 victory over the Marlins. Carlos Beltran added 2 home runs while David Freese hit a solo shot. Freese had a 3-hit day and moved closer to hitting .300 this season–something that nobody saw coming at the end of April. Beltran and Daniel Descalso also had 3-hit games.

On Sunday, the Cardinals were just never able to find their rhythm. Tyler Lyons picked up the loss–his third of the season–after giving up 6 runs in 5 innings. The Cardinals dropped the game in a 7-2 loss to the Marlins. The Marlins pitching only gave up 5 hits on Sunday.

Except for Descalso’s 2-hit game, there was nothing really all that great coming from the offense on Sunday. But we move on to the next series.