9 surprise standout performances in Cardinals series with O’s

The St. Louis Cardinals ultimately lost their series with the Baltimore Orioles, but they did have several standout performances.

The Cardinals fell victim to not getting timely hits to move the team around bases. They again fell victim to some poor pitching performance.

It was quite frustrating. But in each game of this series, the Cardinals showed life and did not give up. Hopefully, in future series, the Cardinals can build on this effort and push forward to do what it takes to win out.

The Cardinals lost 5-3 on Tuesday. They walloped the O’s 10-1 on Wednesday. And the Cards lost Thursday 3-2.

Packy Naughton started Tuesday’s game as Adam Wainwright was on the Covid-related injured list. Naughton pitched 3.1 innings, giving up five hits, three earned runs while striking out two. He did induce 10 swings and misses. Naughton gave up a homer to Cedric Mullins and Tyler Nevin.

Kodi Whitley pitching 1.1 innings, giving up two hits, striking out two, walking one and giving up an earned run. He did induce six swings and misses. Whitley gave up a double to Anthony Santander to score Mullins. Nick Wittgren pitched 1.1 innings, giving up three hits, and one earned run. He struck out one. Wittgren gave up a single to Trey Mancini to score Chris Owings.

Andre Pallante pitched an inning, striking out one and induced two swings and misses. T.J. McFarland pitched the final two innings of Tuesday’s game, ginv up one hit, striking out one and inducing three swings and misses.

Tyler O’Neill is still seeing struggles. On Tuesday, he was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, leaving three on base. He did not play on Wednesday. On Thursday, he was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. He left four on base.

Steven Matz earned his third loss of the season on Thursday. He pitched 6.2 innings, giving up seven hits, two home runs, and three earned runs. He was able to strike out seven batters and induced 14 swings and misses. Matz gave up home runs to Jorge Mateo on a fly to left-center in the second inning, and to Anthony Bemboom on a fly to right field in the seventh inning.

The third run came after Matz was removed in the seventh inning for Genesis Cabrera. Cedric Mullins knocked a single to right field, scoring Chris Owings.

The Cardinals host the San Francisco Giants for a three game set this weekend. Now let’s take a look at the top performers of the series.