Cardinals drop series to Brewers as Walker, Arenado shine

The Cardinals managed a win Saturday but dropped the first and final games of the season. The team struggled through all phases of the game.

The Cardinals lost Friday 4-0 and Sunday 6-1. They won Saturday 6-0.

The drama between manager Oli Marmol and outfielder Tyler O'Neill seems to have ended. Marmol told the media he called him out for the lack of hustle because he wants to help unlock the next level of performance from O'Neill. It's not clear if that was how O'Neill received it. While he started in all three games, he struggled at the plate. O'Neill was 3-for-12 over the weekend series.

Hopefully, O'Neill relaxes and processes what Marmol intends to do with him. It doesn't appear to be petty or malicious. He wants to maximize O'Neill's potential. Marmol might be able to better maximize his talents by returning him to left field, where he won two Gold Gloves. This would allow Marmol to return Dylan Carlson to center field, where he has been successful.

Nolan Arenado hit the 300th home run of his career, the first of his 2023 season. The blast came in the third inning of Saturday's game. The shot traveled 394 feet to left field at 104.3 mph. The home run scored Paul Goldschmidt on the drive.

Meanwhile, Jordan Walker is having an epic start to his career. He has hit in the first nine games of his career.

Walker joins Hall of Famer Ted Williams as the only players age 20 or younger to start their career with a hitting streak of 9 games. Amazing! That's quite the company to join. He will surpass many more records.

Pitching was still a huge concern after this weekend's set. It will be good to have Adam Wainwright back. But as his return date is unknown, the Cardinals must alter their current rotational setup to latch on to some winning and consistency. Also, Packy Naughton was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left forearm strain. The move allowed Genesis Cabrera to be called up from AAA Memphis.

Let's discuss this series some more.