A Hot Bat Can’t Cover Up a Long Afternoon
The Cardinal Chronicle
Morning Briefing: A Hot Bat Can’t Cover Up a Long Afternoon
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals have spent the early part of the season finding ways to win games they didn’t always control.
Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium, there was no such escape.
A 9-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox dropped the Cardinals to 8-7 on the season and into third place in the National League Central. It was not just the loss itself, but how it unfolded that told the story.
For the second straight day, the game got away from them.
Andre Pallante took the ball and never found his footing. The right-hander allowed seven runs on 10 hits over five innings, matching career highs in both categories. He was hit early and often, including a two-run home run in the first inning by former Cardinal Willson Contreras, who made his return to Busch Stadium a difficult one for his old club.
Contreras wasn’t finished.
He collected four hits on Sunday and drove in three runs, capping a weekend in which he went 6-for-13 with six RBIs. At times, it felt like he was seeing the ball better than anyone on the field.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, struggled to keep pace.
Jordan Walker continued his remarkable start to the season, launching his seventh home run in just 15 games with a 432-foot shot in the second inning. It briefly provided a spark, and later he added a hard-hit single, pushing his average to .327 and reinforcing what the early numbers already suggest — he is one of the most dangerous hitters in the game right now.
But beyond Walker, offense was hard to find.
The Cardinals managed just seven hits and were held quiet through long stretches of the game, falling behind 7-1 before adding late runs on a sacrifice fly from Nolan Gorman and a home run from Alec Burleson.
It wasn’t enough.
JJ Wetherholt, who had reached base in each of his first 13 starts, went 0-for-4, ending one of the more impressive early streaks in the league. It was a small note in a larger story — one where the Cardinals simply didn’t apply consistent pressure.
There were a few steadier moments on the mound. George Soriano delivered a clean sixth inning, and Jarad Shuster provided length out of the bullpen, covering the final three innings. But the damage had already been done.
The numbers tell part of the story.
The Cardinals have now been outscored 71-63 on the season, a negative run differential that suggests a club still searching for consistency beneath its record. They have shown an ability to come back — six of their eight wins have come after trailing — but that style of play can only carry a team so far without stronger starting pitching and cleaner execution.
There are still positives.
Walker’s emergence is real. Wetherholt continues to show maturity beyond his experience. Iván Herrera’s plate discipline remains a quiet strength. And help may be on the way, with Lars Nootbaar progressing through his rehab and Masyn Winn expected back soon after missing time following a hit-by-pitch.
But Sunday was a reminder.
The Cardinals have shown how they can win. Now they have to show they can prevent games like this from slipping away.
They will get that opportunity again soon enough.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.