What went wrong in St. Louis Cardinals’ terrible series against Rays

The St Louis Cardinals were swept in a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Cardinals looked like a completely different team in their series with the Rays. With the hopes of riding high after taking 3 of 5 from the Cubs, the Cardinals looked rather flat.

The Cardinals lost 4-2 on Tuesday, 11-3 on Wednesday, and 2-1 on Thursday.

The Cardinals will try to get themselves back together as they head back to St. Louis for a weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Let’s take a look at what happened in Tampa Bay.

Tuesday: Rays 4, Cardinals 2 in 10 innings

Oh, that was terrible!

After leaving 11 on base, the Cardinals only managed to score two runs and that just wasn’t enough. Down to the last out of the game, Drew VerHagen served up a home run to Taylor Walls scoring Issac Paredes and Brett Phillies.

This was VerHagen’s first loss and first blown save. He pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a hit, a walk, and three runs.

It was a real gut punch as the first out of the bottom of the tenth came off this dandy of a play from Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado.

https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1534359194190729216?s=20&t=C8psShsYoo50ZzABBdY1Yg

The Cardinals got their first run in the eighth inning. Harrison Bader singled on a liner to right field, scoring Lars Nootbaar. In the tenth, the Cardinals scored what they thought would be their winning run as Nootbaar knocked a sacrifice fly to score Tommy Edman. Unfortunately, they couldn’t manage to put any more runners across the plate. Frustrating!

This was Tyler O’Neill’s first game back with the Cardinals after a stint on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. He was 2-for-5.  Also, Albert Pujols is now in sole possession of ninth place on the all-time hits list for MLB at 3,320.

Dakota Hudson looked great in his outing, resulting in a no-decision for the righty. He tossed seven innings, giving up two hits, one walk, and one run. He struck out six batters whilst inducing 13 swings and misses.

Giovanny Gallegos pitched an inning, striking out one and inducing three swings and misses. Ryan Helsley pitched an inning, giving up a walk. He did have a max velocity of 101.1 mph.

Wednesday: Rays 11, Cardinals 3

The Cardinals had a bullpen start that got out of hand on Wednesday.

Packy Naughton is now 0-2 on the season, giving up five hits, and four earned runs. While he didn’t strike anyone out, he did induce two swings and misses.  Johan Oviedo pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three hits, one walk, and one earned run. He did strike out three batters while inducing 10 swings and misses.

Nick Wittgren pitched an inning, giving up three hits, a walk, and three earned runs. He did strike out one. He also induced two swings and misses.

T.J. McFarland, who was celebrating his 33rd birthday, pitched two innings of relief but seemed to forget or not know what was going on including an incident in which he didn’t realize there was only one out in the inning and failed to turn a double play that could have gotten him out of the inning. McFarland pitched two innings, giving up five hits, two walks, and three earned runs. He did strike out two.

The best pitching of the night for the Cardinals came from future Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina. He pitched one inning, giving up two hits but ultimately getting his first career strikeout, bringing his ERA down to 18.00. It was a moment of fun in an otherwise miserable game. Albert Pujols got a kick out of the moment:

In the fourth inning, Tyler O’Neill knocked his first home run since his return from the injured list and his third of the season. The blast traveled 378 feet at 101.5 mph.

O’Neill singled in the sixth inning to center field, scoring Tommy Edman and Nolan Gorman. Unfortunately, that was it for the inning. The team left five on base and was 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Another night of frustration from the offense.