5 thoughts after Cardinals drop the series at home to the Reds

The Cardinals have lost six series in a row and don't seem close to finding their way to win one anytime soon.

That may be dramatic, but having watched the Cardinals this weekend, it's an easy assumption.

The Cardinals did win Friday 7-4 but did lose on Saturday 8-4 and 4-3 on Sunday. The Cardinals played how fans typically expect them to on Friday by manufacturing runs, crafty pitching, and stellar defense. The gear seemingly shifted away from that script the rest of the weekend. It was disastrous.

They are not the team fans expected to see this summer. This club has fans dating back generations, and they haven't seen this terrible brand of baseball from the Birds on the bat ... ever. Remember the early 1990s? They are seemingly worse than those clubs.

The Cardinals will host the Giants for a three-game set. In April, the Cardinals took one in a four-game set from them in San Fransisco. Given their return to playing poorly, it will be curious to see if they play better in this series.

Before the Cardinals take on the Giants, let's discuss what happened against the Reds and their team of talented youngsters, including top prospect Elly De La Cruz.

Jordan Montgomery finally got a win

Montgomery is now 3-7 on the season with a 3.88 ERA. He pitched six innings, giving up three hits and one walk. He did strike out six batters and induced 14 swings and misses. He was able to keep batters off balance with a mix of his fastball, change-up, curveball, and a pretty active sinker.

He was impressively able to contain De La Cruz in his first game in St. Louis.

After the game, Montgomery told the media he was happy to win. "As long as I'm throwing well and giving us a chance to win, that's all I can do." Well said. And hopefully, this game is something he can build on down the stretch.