St. Louis Cardinals Can’t Overcome Reds

All the St. Louis Cardinals needed was a little more offense.

In the end the Cardinals didn’t get the support needed, and as a result the Cincinnati Reds walked away victorious and stayed unbeaten.

The Cardinals dropped to 1-2 overall after a 5-4 loss to Cincinnati in front of a boisterous Great American Ballpark crowd.

Here are some of the highlights… and lowlights… of Friday’s loss:

*The top of the order for the Cardinals continues to hit. Matt Carpenter, Jason Heyward and Matt Holliday all stayed above .300, and Carpenter came up with a pair of hits in the loss. Jhonny Peralta and Kolten Wong also had two hits each in the defeat.

*The Cardinals didn’t have an answer for Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton. Hamilton stole a base and scored twice, giving Cincinnati a legitimate leadoff threat at the top of the lineup. Hamilton has seven stolen bases in four games, and Yadier Molina needed to do a better job of keeping Hamilton from getting into scoring position.

*Leaving runners on base is getting to be a problem for the Cardinals. On the heels of stranding 12 runners Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals stranded 15 runners on Friday. Molina alone left four men on base.

*Jordan Walden, acquired by St. Louis in the deal for Heyward, ended up faltering when the Cardinals needed him to come through. He gave up an earned run and struck out two, but a costly wild pitch put Hamilton in scoring position.

All in all, it was not a good night for the Cardinals despite the fact the team’s offense kicked into gear. The teams go at it again on Saturday in the second of a three-game series.