3 ugly moments from St. Louis Cardinals series with Braves

ATLANTA, GA - JULY 07: Tommy Edman #19 of the St. Louis Cardinals and Dylan Carlson #3 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves in eleven innings at Truist Park on July 7, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 07: Tommy Edman #19 of the St. Louis Cardinals and Dylan Carlson #3 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves in eleven innings at Truist Park on July 7, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 01: Juan Yepez #36 of the St. Louis Cardinals is unable to catch a fly ball during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on July 01, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 01: Juan Yepez #36 of the St. Louis Cardinals is unable to catch a fly ball during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on July 01, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Ugly No. 3: Inexperience exposed

The Cardinals lineup has often resembled that of one of the minor league teams this season, with many minor leaguers joining the St. Louis club to help out with mounting injuries. It’s becoming a lot though and key players are missed.

Tyler O’Neill is expected to return to the St. Louis lineup during the weekend series with the Phillies. O’Neill’s return can not come soon enough. The team needs his bat and his Gold Glove defense in left field. Connor Capel, Brendan Donovan, Juan Yepez, and Lars Nootbaar have done well but it’s time to have a major league defender in the outfield.

Carlson has done well in the center field to fill in for an injured  Harrison Bader. But it keeps Carlson out of the right field, where his defense is also needed. While Donovan has been serviceable in right, they have gotten some poor defense from Yepez who is better suited as a designated hitter or to assist at first place when Paul Goldschmidt or Albert Pujols is unavailable. He must work on his outfield defense if they insist on keeping him as an option in the outfield.

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