9 takeaways from St. Louis Cardinals series with Rockies

Losing a three-game set to the Colorado Rockies is not ideal for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals lost two of three games in their series with the Rockies in Denver. After a series sweep of the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees, the Cardinals had high aspirations for continuing their good fortunes.

That didn’t happen.

The Cardinals lost on Tuesday 16-5. They won on Wednesday 9-5. They lost Thursday 8-6.

The Cardinals must shake off this series and get ready to head back to St. Louis for a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are a half-game back of the Cardinals.

To put it mildly, this is an important series for the Cardinals.

Let’s examine a few takeaways from this series against the Rockies.

Bad – Miles Mikolas

This was a surprisingly bad start for Mikolas. Now 8-9 on the season, Mikolas gave up 14 hits over 2.2 innings of work. He gave up ten earned runs, including a home run to C.J. Cron. He did strike out two batters and induced four swings and misses.

Packy Naughton pitched 2.2 innings of relief, giving up five hits and four earned runs. While he gave up a walk, he did strike out three and induced seven swings and misses.

T.J. McFarland pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs, including a home run to Ryan McMahon. McFarland was designated for assignment on Wednesday. It’s uncertain if he will remain a Cardinal.

Good – Nolan Arenado

Arenado had a  great trip back to Denver. He got some hits and due to some familiarity, was able to make some excellent plays on defense.

In the sixth inning Tuesday, Arenado doubled on a sharp line drive to left field, scoring Nolan Gorman. Andrew Knizner singled to center field, scoring Arenado and Lars Nootbaar.

On Wednesday, Arenado kicked it up a notch. In the first inning, he doubled on a fly to left field to score Tommy Edman. Arenado scored on a double off the bat of Tyler O’Neill. The double was a liner to left field.

In the sixth inning, Arenado knocked a home run to left field off of Aaron Gomber. Remember Arenado was traded to St. Louis for Gomber. A real full circle moment for Rockies and Cardinals fans alike. Arenado’s homer traveled 403 feet at 103.4 mph.

In the eighth inning of Thursday’s game, Arenado launched his 24th home run of the season on a fly to left field off Alex Colome. The homer traveled 379 feet at 103.6 mph.

Good – Lars Nootbaar

Nootbaar continues his legendary status as a player for the Cardinals. He has stepped up to take over the role of the right fielder with the Cardinals, bringing fun and intensity along with him on the field, at the plate, and on the base paths. He is an epic player.

In the first inning Wednesday, Nootbaar hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Tyler O’Neill.

In the ninth inning, Nootbaar drew the roars of “Noot” from the Denver crowd as he tripled on a line drive to left field, scoring Paul DeJong.

Nootbaar has been so impressive of late, that manager Oli Marmol moved him up to lead off on Thursday. Marmol was rewarded with a double from Nootbaar in the first inning. While he did not score a run, Nootbaar’s hit to lead off the game was great to see.

Good – Paul DeJong

DeJong continued his remarkable play since his return from AAA Memphis. It almost makes you wonder why he didn’t come back sooner.

On Tuesday, DeJong got the Cardinals on the board in the third inning with his fifth home run of the season on a fly-to-left field. The blast scored Lars Nootbaar. The homer off of Ryan Feltner traveled 448 feet at 107.1 mph.

On Wednesday, DeJong singled on a grounder to left field, scoring Pujols in the first inning. In the fifth inning, DeJong scored on a single off the bat of Yadier Molina.

Good – Albert Pujols

Twenty-something years after making his Major League Baseball debut at Coors Field in Denver, Pujols had a game to remember at that ballpark in what is his final season in the league.

In the first inning, Pujols singled on a liner to left field, scoring Paul Goldschmidt.

In the sixth inning, Pujols launched his eighth home run of the season and the 687th of his Hall of Fame career. The home was a fly to left field traveling 412 feet at 102.7 mph. It was a beautiful shot.

Good – Jose Quintana

Quintana got his fourth win of the season on Wednesday and is 4-5 now. He had a great outing for the Cardinals going six innings, giving up seven hits and two earned runs. While he did walk two, he did strike out six and induced 12 swings and misses.

Good – Andre Pallante

Pallante looked excellent in his two innings of relief, giving up only one hit. He struck out three and induced three swings and misses. It’s good to see Pallante be up for whatever manager Oli Marmol and pitching coach Mike Maddux ask of him.

Fair – Chris Stratton

Stratton pitched one inning of work Wednesday, giving up five hits, and two earned runs. He struck out one and induced four swings and misses.

Good – Paul Goldschmidt

In the fourth inning, Goldschmidt scored on a single off the bat of Corey Dickerson on a liner to right field.

In the eighth inning, Goldschmidt launched his 27th home run of the season on a fly to left-center field off Alex Colome to score Gorman. The homer traveled 408 feet at 102.6 mph. It’s great to see him keep coming up huge at the plate for the Cardinals.

In the ninth, Goldschmidt grounded into a force out to the second base, allowing Brendan Donovan to score.

Good – Nolan Gorman

Take a look at this absolute bomb off the bat of Gorman.

In the fourth inning of Thursday’s game, Gorman knocked his 13th home run of the season on a fly to right-center field off German Marquez. The blast traveled 430 feet at 100.3 mph. Whew!

Bad – Dakota Hudson

On Thursday, Hudson threw five innings, giving up four hits, four walks, and two earned runs. He did strike out six batters while inducing seven swings and misses. The hope is to eventually see Hudson be an effective ground ball pitcher that’s a starter for the Cardinals. Manager Oli Marmol has previously said this sentiment is being expressed to Hudson. One may wonder if Hudson is just not taking the message.

Bad – Jordan Hicks

While hitting a max velocity of 103.2 mph, Hicks earned his sixth loss of the season after pitching 1.1 innings, giving up two earned runs on no hits and two walks. He did strike out one batter. It’s nice to have all that velocity, but it’s stressful to teammates when it’s not used effectively.

Terrible – Genesis Cabrera

Cabrera pitched to four batters in the seventh inning without getting a single out. He gave up four hits and four runs, including two home runs to Brendan Rodgers and Ryan McMahon. He’s had a terrible time lately and it’s a wonder how he is still with the Cardinals and not a minor league affiliate.

Good – Jake Woodford

Woodford made the bleeding stop, so to speak. He pitched 1.2 innings of relief Thursday. He gave up a hit but struck out two batters while inducing three swings and misses.