St. Louis Cardinals: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

The St. Louis Cardinals’ series against the Seattle Mariners continues tonight. What do the Redbirds need to do to get back on track after blowing game one?

The game last night is the type of game, as a fan, you are infuriated that you stayed up so late to watch. The St. Louis Cardinals squandered a golden opportunity to take game one of a three-game set that began last night in Seattle, losing 4-3 to the Mariners on a walk-off three-run homer.

So, what happened? Let’s recap briefly with the good, the bad and the ugly from last night’s loss.

The Good: Matt Carpenter Continues to Rake

More from Redbird Rants

• Cardinals Rumors: 3 pros and cons of signing Carlos Rodon
• What’s next for the St. Louis Cardinals after Contreras signing?
• Report: Cardinals Emerge As Mystery Team for Carlos Rodon
• Cardinals: Trade targets after signing Willson Contreras
• Reflecting on the 2013 Cardinals’ top 30 prospects

Always start with the good news, right? Cardinals third baseman, second baseman? Wherever he plays these days, Matt Carpenter has continued to stay hot in June. Carpenter finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in last night’s loss, and with how he has been hitting this month that is considered an off night for Carp.

The 30-year old has been on a tear this month slashing .373/.513/.593 with 22 hits in 17 games, including seven doubles, two homers and 10 RBI. Carpenter has also somehow increased his eagle eye pitch recognition with a 22.4 BB% and just an 11.8 strikeout percentage. Carpenter has been the catalyst for this team, and he continues to get even better.

The Bad: Middle of the Lineup Goes Hitless

Lost in the shuffle of a blown save by Trevor Rosenthal (more on that in a minute). The Cardinals middle of the lineup did literally nothing last night to help this offense. St. Louis’ 2 through 5 hitters went a combined 0-for-14 against Mariners starter Wade LeBlanc.

The Mariners lefty went six scoreless innings yielding just three hits and one walk. Rosenthal certainly blew the game, but the Cardinals offense only mustered four hits on the night and that did very little to help St. Louis lock down a win in game one of this series.

The Ugly: Trevor Rosenthal

What can I say here that much of Cardinal Nation isn’t already saying on Twitter? Rosenthal took a 3-1 lead in the 9th inning and gave up a double, a walk and a walk-off three-run homer to Adam Lind. It was bad, folks, real bad.  For more on this, jump over and read Michael’s recent review.

Rosenthal continues to struggle with walking batters. After last night’s blown save, Rosy now holds a 5.63 ERA and an atrocious 2.04 WHIP. Batters are hitting .292 off of the Cardinals closer.

The 7.88 walks per nine are what is killing Rosenthal the most. He simply doesn’t have the improved control that he showed last season. Believe it or not, last night’s blown save was only his third of the season. But at this point, Matheny has to make a move.

What To Watch For Tonight

That brings us to tonight’s game. Mike Leake will take the mound for the Cardinals with right-hander Nate Karns opposing him for Seattle. Karns is 5-2 on the season for the Mariners with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.

The Cardinals offense has to, especially the middle of the lineup, bounce back tonight if St. Louis is going to win this game. I’d expect the Cardinals to tee off on Karns, but then again, I expected the same from the offense last night and that didn’t happen.

If Cardinal Nation decides to stay up late again tonight, here are a couple of things to watch for…

The biggest one — what will happen with Trevor Rosenthal? If tonight is another save opportunity will Cardinals manager Mike Matheny have the guts to go with someone else like Seung-hwan Oh or Kevin Siegrist? It is the logical move right now.

The Cardinals shouldn’t be cute with Rosenthal. I know he was great last season, but so was Randal Grichuk. St. Louis has had no problem sending guys like Seth Maness, Grichuk and Kolten Wong back down to Triple-A to figure things out. They shouldn’t hesitate with Rosenthal, either. It would likely be a good wake-up call for the 26-year-old.

Still, it’s a bit more difficult decision to send Rosenthal down to Triple-A with a bullpen that really doesn’t have much depth after losing Jordan Walden earlier this season. We will have to see what Matheny and GM John Mozeliak decide.

Also, keep an eye on Leake on the mound tonight. Cardinals starters have rattled off 13 straight quality starts, but St. Louis is only 7-6 over those 13 games. It’s a shame great starts like Carlos Martinez’s last night continue to be blown by the bullpen. Still, it’s encouraging to see the run the starting rotation has been on after a slow start to the 2016 season.

Projected Lineup

The lineups aren’t posted yet, but here is my projected lineup:

Carpenter – 2B
Diaz –  SS
Holliday – DH
Piscotty – RF
Moss – LF
Peralta – 3B
Molina – C
Gyorko – 1B
Wong – CF

Jedd Gyorko got the start at first base last night with Matt Adams being a late scratch with lower back tightness. I’d expect Adams to get another night off tonight. The only change to this lineup is Wong getting the start in center field over Tommy Pham. With a right-hander on the mound, I believe Wong will be back in there tonight with a chance to prove himself.

Next: Mariners Rotation Ripe For Picking

We will see if this Cardinals offense and the bullpen can bounce back tonight. Thanks for reading.