Cardinals Stumble Into Cincinnati Looking for a Weekend Reset
Cardinal Chronicle Cardinals Stumble Into Cincinnati Looking for a Weekend Reset St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The St. Louis Cardinals did not exactly ease into their late-May divisional grind. After dropping two of three to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals now head to Cincinnati for a three-game weekend series against the Reds, another National League Central opponent with enough momentum and enough troublemaking ability to make this more than just another stop on the schedule.
This is the beginning of what could fairly be called the Cardinals’ Divisional Gauntlet — a stretch where standings, bullpen usage, lineup decisions and roster depth all start to matter a little more than they did in April. The calendar still says May, but division games have a way of speeding up the season.
St. Louis enters the series at 28-21, sitting third in the NL Central, two games behind first-place Milwaukee and just behind the Cubs. Cincinnati comes in at 26-24, tied with Pittsburgh at 4½ games back, but the Reds are not limping into the weekend. They won two straight in Philadelphia and took a road series from the Phillies before returning home to Great American Ball Park.
For the Cardinals, the assignment is simple enough to say and harder to execute: clean up the offense, protect the bullpen, and get the series before heading deeper into the division schedule.
St. Louis was held to two runs Thursday after being shut out Wednesday, a two-day stretch that exposed the very thing that has been quietly following this club around — an offense that can look dangerous one night and scattered the next. The Cardinals still have enough talent to win this division, but talent by committee is starting to look less like flexibility and more like uncertainty.
The Cardinals are expected to make a couple of roster moves, maybe up to four prior to game time. The catcher situation has been handled by committee. Left field has been handled by committee. The back end of the bullpen has had its own committee moments. That may work for a week. It may even work for a month. But as the Central tightens, the Cardinals need more defined answers and fewer daily experiments.
The Reds, meanwhile, come home with some life. Sal Stewart broke out Wednesday against Philadelphia, going 4-for-5 with a double, a long two-run homer and three runs scored in Cincinnati’s 9-4 win. Nathaniel Lowe also drove in three runs as the Reds clinched the series.
That matters because Great American Ball Park has never been a forgiving place for pitchers who miss spots. Cincinnati’s lineup may run hot and cold, but when the Reds get traffic on the bases in that ballpark, games can turn sideways in a hurry.
The Cardinals will send Kyle Leahy to the mound Friday night against Chris Paddack. Leahy enters at 5-3 with a 3.94 ERA, while Paddack is still searching for his first win at 0-5 with a 7.07 ERA. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. CT, with coverage on Reds.TV, Cardinals.TV and KMOV-4.
Saturday’s matchup has Andre Pallante facing Brady Singer in a nationally televised game on FOX. Pallante enters 4-4 with a 4.04 ERA, while Singer is 2-4 with a 6.26 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT.
Sunday’s finale is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. CT, with Matthew Liberatore facing left-hander Nick Lodolo. Liberatore comes in 2-2 with a 4.70 ERA, while Lodolo enters 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA.
On paper, this is a series the Cardinals should expect to win. But that phrase — “on paper” — has buried more ballclubs than a bad bullpen ever did.
The Reds are close enough in the standings to make this meaningful, and the Cardinals are coming off a series that reminded everyone how thin the margin can be when the offense goes quiet. St. Louis cannot afford to treat Cincinnati as a reset button. This is not a soft landing. It is another division test, and the Cardinals need to play like a club that understands the value of getting right before the schedule gets even heavier.
The old rule still applies: beat the teams in your division, and the standings usually take care of themselves.
For the Cardinals, this weekend in Cincinnati is less about panic and more about proof. Prove the Pittsburgh series was a stumble, not a trend. Prove the lineup has enough stability to carry the club through the long haul. Prove the pitching staff can survive a dangerous park without asking the bullpen to cover half the weekend.
The Divisional Gauntlet has begun.
Now the Cardinals need to start winning their way through it.
Series Schedule
Friday, May 22
Cardinals at Reds, 5:40 p.m. CT
Kyle Leahy vs. Chris Paddack
TV: Reds.TV, Cardinals.TV, KMOV-4
Saturday, May 23
Cardinals at Reds, 6:15 p.m. CT
Andre Pallante vs. Brady Singer
TV: FOX
Sunday, May 24
Cardinals at Reds, 12:40 p.m. CT
Matthew Liberatore vs. Nick Lodolo
TV: Reds.TV, Cardinals.TV
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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