The Cardinals can't score runners in scoring position

It's not a secret that the St. Louis Cardinals have been aggravating to watch with runners in scoring position this year. They rank 30th in batting average in these situations, 28th in OPS, and 27th in RBIs. There has been many a time this year when Cardinal hitters have come to the plate with at least one runner in scoring position only for the rally to fizzle out.

As recently as last week against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cardinals had back-to-back innings with runners in scoring position and no one out. In the top of the fourth on May 9th, Dylan Carlson came up to bat with runners on first and second only to hit into a double play. Masyn Winn then struck out. In the next inning, the first three batters reached base via a walk, a single, and another walk. The heart of the order was due up (#2-4 hitters). Lars Nootbaar grounded out, Nolan Arenado popped out in foul territory, and Alec Burleson flew out.

Events like these have become commonplace for the struggling Redbirds. Players are able to get on base at a decent clip, but the lineup just isn't able to bring them home. The Cardinals have left 7.42 batters on base per game, the 3rd-worst in the league. The team was also terrible with getting runners home last year.

These issues are magnified even further when there is a runner on third base and fewer than 2 outs. This should be an easy run-scoring opportunity. A pop fly, a deep ground ball, or any hit would score that runner with ease. However, the Cardinals have been the worst at scoring the runner on third. To add insult to injury, the Cardinals are also striking out at a crazy rate in these situations.

Jay Cuda on Twitter/X posted a graphic that displayed team plate appearances resulting in the runner on 3rd scoring with fewer than 2 outs versus the plate appearance resulting in a strikeout.

The Cardinals are among the worst teams in baseball in these situations. They are striking out often and not getting the runner home. Teams that are quite successful under these conditions include the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals. Teams that are performing similarly to the Cardinals include the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays.

While this stat alone doesn't determine a team's success or failure on the season, it is representative of a greater problem the Cardinals have. In order to turn the season around, the Cardinals will have to score more runners when they are in scoring position, particularly with fewer than 2 outs.