Good, Bad and Ugly: Cardinals’ series against Tigers comes at cost

The St. Louis Cardinals were able to scratch out a win against the Detroit Tigers to split a two-game set.

Those hoping for a St. Louis Cardinals sweep of the Detroit Tigers got more than they bargained for as they managed to get a split. The Cardinals lost 4-3 on Tuesday and won 3-2 in 10 innings on Wednesday.

From frustration to elation, the series had it all. Let’s discuss the good, bad and ugly.

The Good

On Tuesday, the Cardinals did all of their scoring in the eighth inning. After almost getting hit near the head, Harrison Bader knocked a triple off Erasmo Ramirez to center field. Edmundo Sosa walked. Tommy Edman hit into a ground out but with his speed, Bader scored.

With Sosa at second, Paul Goldschmidt grounded out. Dylan Carlson got on base after getting hit by a pitch from Ramirez.

With Daz Cameron in the game, Nolan Arenado knocked a line drive double to right field allowing Sosa and Carlson to score. This was Arenado’s 32nd double of the season. The inning ended with Yadier Molina striking out.

Jack Flaherty’s start for the Cardinals is discussed in the ugly section.  Despite his bad outing, the bullpen allowed the Cardinals to stay in the game. Daniel Ponce de Leon pitched 2.1 innings, giving up two hits and one walk. He struck out two.

Andrew Miller pitched two-thirds of an inning. Harold Castro grounded the ball back to Miller who turned a double play to Paul DeJong and Goldschmidt. Kwang Hyun Kim was impressive in his 2.2 innings of work. He walked two and struck out two.

T.J. McFarland pitched two thirds of an inning, giving up one hit but striking out one. Luis Garcia pitched the final two-thirds, giving up a walk and striking out one.

On Wednesday, Goldschmidt proved to be the star of the game, ultimately scoring all three of the team’s runs.

In the first inning, he hit his 20th home run of season, a 427 foot blast traveling at 106.1 mph, on a fly to center field. In the third inning,

Goldschmidt hit his 21st home run of season, a 368 foot blast traveling at 104.8 mph, on a fly to right field.

Tied two all in the 10th inning, and Goldschmidt at third, Lars Nootbaar walked it off with a single to right field  to get the 3-2 winner.

Jon Lester threw five innings giving up seven hits, two walks, and one run. He did strike out four. Luis Garcia pitched an inning, giving up one hit but striking out one. He’s brought his ERA down to 3.12. Genesis Cabrera earned his 23rd hold of the season, pitching one inning and striking out two. Giovanny Gallegos earned his 21st hold of the season, pitching an inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Alex Reyes blew his third save of the season pitching the ninth. He gave up two hits and one earned run.

T.J. McFarland is now 3-0 on the season pitching the 10th inning, only walking one.

The Bad

A lack of hitting, moving on the base path and scoring was, yet again, the bad.

On Tuesday the Cardinals were one for nine with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base. Knocking in those runners would have helped create a win for a team desperately needing wins if they want to stay in contention.

On Wednesday, the Cardinals were one for seven with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. They were very lucky as the Tigers were two for 15 with runners in scoring position and left five on base. The Tigers had 11 hits while the Cardinals had five. The final score of 3-2 seems shocking compared to what it could have been

The Ugly

It’s been exciting times with the return of Flaherty. Thoughts of being able to gain some ground and make a run of some sort were hanging in the air. Those thoughts halted some Tuesday.

In the second inning, Flaherty gave up a single to Derek Hill, allowing Jeimer Candelario to score. After a mound visit, Flaherty walked Casey Mize with the bases loaded to score Harold Castro. He got two outs to minimize the damage from the inning.

This should have been a sign that something was not right with the ace, but he returned to the mound in the third. He promptly gave up back to back home runs to Robbie Grossman and Miguel Cabrera.

Flaherty was then removed from the game an injured shoulder. This moved Flaherty to 9-2 on the season. He pitched two innings, giving up four hits, three walks, two homers and four earned runs. This was not an outing that we expect from the young ace.  n Tuesday night during the Bally Sports Midwest broadcast of the game, play by play announcer Dan McLaughlin reported Flaherty’s exit was precautionary.

Prior to Wednesday’s game, though, Flaherty was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain. Hopefully this is just 10 days of rest for him and it’s nothing long term as with the oblique issue.

In Conclusion

The Cardinals are now 64-61 on the season. They are 13 games back of the Brewers, who are 78-49. The Cincinnati Reds are 69-59 and 9.5 back of the Brewers and are solidly in the second wild card spot.

The Cardinals are 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.

The next couple of weeks will prove very important for the Cardinals as they start a huge 10-game road trip over the next 11 days. The Cardinals head to Pittsburgh for a four game set with the Pirates. The Cardinals do tend to play the Pirates better in Pittsburgh.

After their Pittsburgh trip, the Cardinals will travel to Cincinnati and then Milwaukee.

Even though they can be frustrating, it will be fun to watch them attempt a run. Get your snacks ready, this could be fun!