No Reason to Fold

Not much has gone right for the St. Louis Cardinals lately.  After losing tonight’s series finale against the rival Chicago Cubs, the Cards fall to 65-55, and 7 games back in the division standings, 3 behind the Brewers for the Wild Card.  Since sweeping the Padres in San Diego in the first series after the All-Star break, the Cards have gone 8-12, while the teams they’re trailing have continued to play good baseball.

In tonight’s game, staff ace Chris Carpenter was removed in the sixth inning after experiencing some tricept discomfort.  Matthew Leach has more on that story.  The Cards went on to lose the game 6-2.  Here’s the full recap and box score.

Already Adam Wainwright has been out for an extended period, and we hope that Carpenter’s injury isn’t serious.  But even without their pair of aces, the Cards have no reason to fold.

There are still 41 games left in the season, and the Cards have six more games with the Cubs, and two against the Brewers.  A lot can happen between now and October, and if the Cardinals want a chance at the playoffs, they’ll have to step up their game the rest of the way.

Tomorrow night is game one of a four game series against the Florida Marlins, where Joel Pineiro will face Anibal Sanchez.  Since I’m only about 15 minutes from Dolphins Stadium, you can bet that I’ll be there, decked out in Cardinal red, cheering on the visiting team.