St. Louis Cardinals, Momentum Halted by Reds
The St. Louis Cardinals were handed a 9-5 defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, momentarily stopping the Cardinals’ momentum within the NL Central. The loss put the Cardinals at 80-65 on the season, but St. Louis maintained a 4.5 game lead in the central despite the loss thanks to a Pirates loss to the Phillies.
Michael Wacha was stuck with the loss, but was able to throw 70 pitches in just his second appearance with the Cardinals since returning from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for more than two months. Wacha gave up five earned in four innings and saw his ERA climb to over three for the first time since early April. Still, Wacha’s ability to go deeper in ball games could allow him to be the Cardinals third or fourth starter when the playoffs begin.
The Cardinals were unable to overcome an early deficit despite compiling 14 hits in the game. The Cardinals grounded into two double plays, including one with men on first and second and no outs in the first, and stranded ten baserunners.
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With the Cardinals losing late, a few of the younger players were able to showcase their talents. Randall Grichuk had a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning to make him 5-12 as a pinch hitter on the year.
Highly touted 21 year-old Sam Tuivailala pitched 0.2 innings in the eighth, giving up two runs on a bases loaded blooper. Tuivailala’s stuff was impressive though, reaching 98 MPH with his fastball and showing a sharp 80 MPH curveball. If he’s able to improve his command, Tuivailala could make a run at making the Cardinal’s postseason roster, as power arms are highly valued in the post season.
Xavier Scruggs also showed why he was one of the best minor league players in the Cardinals’ organization by ripping an RBI double in his only plate appearance in the ninth inning. Scruggs hit the ball so hard that right fielder Chris Heisey seemed shocked when the ball lined over his head and hit near the warning track. The opposite field power was good to see and could give Mike Matheny more confidence to pinch hit the first baseman for the rest of the season.
The most important and possibly most impressive takeaway from the game may have been second-year reliever Kevin Siegrist. Siegrist has struggled this season with command and has notably lost some velocity on his fastball. That velocity seemed to be back for Siegrist as he threw six of his seven pitches at 96 MPH on Tuesday, fanning the only two batters he faced.
Siegrist’s return to dominance could be key for a Cardinals’ post season run. In his career he has struck out 86 batters in just 68 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals may have lost, but it was nice to see the depth of the organization and still maintain their 4.5 game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the rubber match coming Wednesday, it seems like a must win for the Cardinals in order to maintain their momentum and semi-comfortable lead in the NL Central.