2 discouraging, 1 encouraging signs from Cardinals series loss to D-Backs

This has been a terrible start to the 2023 season for the Cardinals.

It seems an understatement, but the Cardinals' 8-11 start is awful. After an offseason with incredibly high expectations cut short by the lack of acquiring a top-tier starting pitcher, or any starting pitching for that matter, this start has been a real gut punch for fans.

Facing the Diamondbacks was not going to be an easy task, as they are the top team in the NL Wes so far this year. But the results from this series have been particularly frustrating, except for Wednesday afternoon's thumping. The Cardinals lost Monday 6-3, Tuesday 8-7, and won Wednesday 14-5. The team will head to Seattle to start a West Coast road trip that will keep them away from St. Louis through the end of the month. Maybe a long road trip filled with team bonding will be just what the team needs.

Right now, the Cardinals seem to want to put it together, but even after Wednesday's win, it's also apparent something is off.

After this series, let's look at some of the encouraging and discouraging signs from the Cardinals.

Discouraging - RISP woes

The Cardinals continue to have difficulties moving runners and leaving them on base.

In Monday's 6-3 loss, the Cardinals were 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, leaving three runners on base. Nolan Arenado was 0-for-4, while Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker were each 0-for-3. On Tuesday, the Cardinals were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine on base. The club did attempt a late-inning comeback, so that was nice.

The Cardinals were 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position Wednesday and left seven runners on base. The Cardinals had a huge win, but it could have been more!

Discouraging - Pitching

Jack Flaherty is now 1-2 on the season after pitching six innings, giving up four hits, three walks, and four earned runs, including a home run to Ketel Marte. Again, Flaherty had another performance where he looked great, and after a while, he just faded.

With two runners aboard, manager Oli Marmol brought Andre Pallante in for relief. With Lourdes Gurriel and Christian Walker on, Pallante walked Corbin Carroll. Pallante then served Pavin Smith a pitch in launched for a grand slam.

This tweet from The Athletic's Katie J. Woo with a screenshot of Jack Flaherty's reaction to this home run sums up the frustration from this homer.

Pallante was optioned to AAA Memphis for Jojo Romero. The hope is to get Pallante back on track after a disappointing start to his season. Romero will be able to provide relief in the late innings as a lefty arm.

Jordan Montgomery earned his second loss of the season Tuesday. He pitched four innings, giving up ten hits, one home run, and seven earned runs. He did strike out two batters. Chris Stratton pitched 2.1 innings of relief, giving up two hits and one earned run. He did strike out a batter. Jojo Romero pitched 1.2 innings of work, giving up one hit, and one walk while striking out a batter. Jordan Hicks threw well in his inning of working, giving up a hit while striking out three batters. It is nice that even though he is working on things at the major league level, he is being effective.

Jake Woodford earned the win with five innings of work Wednesday. He gave up seven hits and four runs, including two home runs to Alek Thomas and Pavin Smith. Zack Thompson pitched an inning of relief, giving up two hits while striking out three batters. Drew VerHagen pitched an inning, walking one and striking out two batters. Genesis Cabrera pitched an inning while giving up two hits and an earned run while striking out two batters. Jordan Hicks took the mound in relief once more, pitching an inning. He walked one and struck out two batters. This is a nice improvement for Hicks. Here's hoping he uses this to continue to improve.