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

Cardinals are actually finding ways to lose

On Saturday, Miles Mikolas pitched six innings, giving up seven hits, two walks, and five earned runs. He did strike out two batters.

De La Crus singled to Tommy Edman in the third inningLuke Maile doubled on a line drive to Walker, allowing Tyler Stephenson, Will Benson, and Stuart Fairchild to score in the second inning. In the third inning, De La Crus singled to Tommy Edman, allowing Matt McLain to score. Spencer Steer knocked a sacrifice fly to Edman, allowing Jonathan India to score.

Drew VerHagen pitched two innings, giving up two hits, one walk, and two earned runs. He did strike out one batter. Steer doubled to center field in the seventh inning, scoring India and De LA Cruz.

Genesis Cabrera pitched an inning, giving up a hit, a walk, and a run while striking out one batter. Stephenson singled to right field, allowing India to score.

Meanwhile the offense was 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on the base path.

It's painful to watch Adam Wainwright struggle through his starts. There are glimpses of the crafty pitcher fans have enjoyed watching over the years, but he's slowed considerably. Wainwright pitched 5.2 innings Sunday, giving up eight hits, one walk, and three runs, including a home run to India.

Wainwright could not complete his sixth inning of working, allowing Chris Stratton to close out the sixth. He gave up a hit but struck out one in his 1.1 innings.

Jordan Hicks earned his fourth season loss of the season, struggling through his one inning of work. With De La Cruz at third, Tyler Stephenson reached on a fielder's choice, fielded by shortstop Paul DeJong. He threw the ball to home to get De La Cruz at the plate but pitched to the wrong side of the plate to make the play. De La Cruz is fast and was able to slide in with no problems, sealing the victory for the Reds after the Cardinals couldn't muster any more offense.

The offense was 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base.