Three takeaways from Cardinals series loss to Padres

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The Cardinals head to Milwaukee and will wrap up their final road trip of the 2023 season. They just finished a three-game series with the San Diego Padres over the weekend, dropping two out of three games and falling to 68-88 on the season.

Just two more losses will ensure the Cardinals' first 90-loss season since 1990. Even if the Cardinals win their final six games and the Pirates do the opposite, forcing a fourth-place tie, the Cardinals would be designated last place by virtue of losing the season series. 1990 was also the last time the Cardinals finished at the bottom of their division, and that was before the NL Central was ever even formed.

Alas, here we are. The Cardinals are struggling mightily and have done as much all season long. They were pretty much out of contention from the start after going 10-24 in their first 34 games. There were glimmers of hope, such as an 11-3 stretch in May, but things have continued to go south.

In San Diego, it was just more of the same for the woeful Cardinals, who fell 4-2 in the series opener thanks to a clutch home run by Manny Machado in the eighth inning off of Matthew Liberatore. The Cardinals grinded out a 5-2 win on Saturday night but were blown out on Sunday, losing 12-2.

In this piece, we will discuss some major takeaways from this recent series the Cardinals lost to the Padres.

Here are three things to take away from this weekend's tough series loss.

Bullpen collapses aplenty

The Cardinals bullpen took the brunt of the struggles this past weekend in San Diego. Matthew Liberatore served up a meatball to Manny Machado in the eighth inning in Game 1 on Friday night. That homer put the Padres up 4-2, where they would stay.

Though the Cardinals won Game 2, they weren't able to do it without some drama. Ryan Helsley blew a save in the ninth inning and let the Padres tie the game at two runs apiece. And after Drew Rom allowed eight runs, six of them earned on Sunday, Casey Lawrence and Andrew Suarez combined to allow four runs in 4.2 innings.

The need for pitching remains clear

Speaking of Drew Rom, the Cardinals have seen a few moments of brilliance from the young left-hander, but Sunday was not one of them. He only lasted 3.1 innings before exiting. Eight runs were allowed by Rom, six of them earned.

This only further illustrates the Cardinals' need for pitching. And not only do they need pitching, but they need to go get it from outside the organization. That means in trades and in free agency. It's clear as of now that they cannot trust their internal options and that they'll need bold action to contend again in 2024.

Old pal not so friendly

To add salt to the wound, former Cardinal Michael Wacha carved up a masterpiece in his start against his former team on Sunday. It also came on the 10-year anniversary of his near no-hitter against the Nationals in his rookie season.

Wacha went seven innings and allowed just two runs, which came on a two-run homer by Luken Baker. He also fanned six batters and walked just one batter, allowing only six hits in the process.

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Should he opt out of his current contract, Wacha will be a free agent and is somebody who the Cardinals may want to take a look at this coming winter. But he certainly didn't give an inch against his old club.

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