St. Louis Cardinals positives and negatives from Mets series

The St. Louis Cardinals had a rough series in New York, going 1-3 in the hard-fought series.

The St. Louis Cardinals had their moments all series where they looked great but unfortunately were only able to get one win in the four-game set.

The series left the club so up in the air, that the team has called up two of their top prospects, Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore, to join the team for a three-game set in Pittsburgh.

Tyler O’Neill was placed on the injured list with a shoulder impingement. It will be good for him to have a few days off to rest and regain the form we know he is fully capable of achieving.

The team were supposed to play Monday evening, but the game was postponed to Tuesday afternoon due to inclement weather.

Let’s discuss the positives and negatives of this ugly series.

Tuesday, Game 1: Cardinals 1, Mets 3

Positives: 

The Cardinals got their only run of the game on a home run by Paul Goldschmidt in the eighth inning off Drew Smith. The blast traveled 385-feet at 102.9 mph.

Negatives:

Miles Mikolas earned his second loss of the season. He pitched six innings, giving up seven hits, one walk and three runs, two of which were earned. He did strike out five batters and did induce 10 swings and misses. This was not a great outing from a pitcher who has been solid.

Wednesday: Cardinals 4, Mets 11

Another poor pitching effort combined with an inability to move runners around the base paths made for a disastrous game Wednesday evening.

Positive: Hitting

In the second inning, Albert Pujols hit a single on a grounder to right field. Corey Dickerson and Dylan Carlson each scored.

Nolan Arenado knocked his ninth homer of the season on a fly to left center field, scoring Paul Goldschmidt. The home run traveled 370-feet at 105.1 mph.

Negative: Hitting

The team was 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. They left seven runners on base. Could have been a little closer.

Positive: Running

Pujols stolen a base off Scherzer. Seriously!

Negative: Pitching

Jake Walsh earned his first loss of the season. He faced four batters in the fifth, but got no one out. He gave up two hits, one walk and four earned runs. He now has an ERA of 13.50.

T.J. McFarland was terrible. He pitched one inning, giving up four hir hits, one walk and five (5) earned runs. Thankfully, he was able to pitch out of the situation.

Positive: Pitching

Jordan Hicks pitched four innings, giving up three hits, three walks and two earned runs. He did strike out five. He induced nine swings and misses. He hit a max velocity of 101.5 mph. He wasn’t great, but he did keep the team in the ball game and ate up some innings.

Drew VerHagen pitched two innings, giving up one hit and striking out two. A positive outing for him.

Negative:

Max Scherzer pulled himself from the game in the sixth inning. It was announced he has an oblique strain that could keep him off the mound for two months.

Thursday: Cardinals 6, Mets 7

The Cardinals battled but ultimately lost in disappointing fashion with a walk-off blast from a “big, strong guy” in Pedro Alonso.

Positive: Hitting

Paul Goldschmidt served as the designated hitter in Thursday afternoon’s game. He was 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

Juan Yepez continued his tradition of just hitting as he patrolled left field. He was 3-for-5 with one run and an RBI.

Yepez knocked his third home run of the season with a fly to center field off Chris Bassitt. The blast traveled 414-feet at 106.2 mph.  Goldschmidt hit his sixth homer in the third inning on a fly to left field off Chris Bassitt. The homer traveled 390-feet at 102.1 mph.

Goldschmidt knocked a double to right field in the fifth, scoring Tommy Edman. In the seventh, Goldschmidt hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Edman. In the ninth inning, Paul Goldschmidt helps tie the game on a single toward third base, scoring Harrison Bader.

In the 10th inning, Albert Pujols grounded into a double play, which allowed Corey Dickerson to score.

Positive: Running

Harrison Bader had two stolen bases on Thursday, bringing his total to 11 on the season. This surpasses his total of nine last season.

Negative: Hitting

The team was 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position. They left nine runners on base. Imagine what could have been!

Positive: Pitching

Andre Pallante pitched two innings of relief, taking two hits off his body – one off his bicep and another off his foot. While he did give up three hits, he did strike out two. Pallante induced two swings and misses.

Genesis Cabrera pitched an inning and struck out one.

Ryan Helsley pitched an inning, striking out one. Helsley did induce three swings and misses.

Negative: Pitching

The Cardinals had a rough day on the mound. Dakota Hudson pitched 4.2 innings, giving up five hits, two walks, and four earned runs and he struck out two. Hudson did induce nine swings and misses.

Nick Wittgren pitched a third of an inning, giving up two hits, a walk, and one earned run.

Giovanny Gallegos seemed rattled from the beginning of the tenth inning with the runner on second to begin the inning. He served Pedro Alonso a 92.6 mph fastball that he launched 447-feet to left field at 113.7 mph. This was Gallegos’ second blown save and his second loss of the season. He’s now 0-2.