The St. Louis Cardinals were unable to win their second straight game against their Missouri rivals, the Kansas City Royals, on Saturday night, jumping out to a 2-0 lead before eventually losing momentum and losing the series finale, 8-3.
While the bullpen was the main culprit in Saturday's loss to St. Louis, it wasn't the only reason they lost the game. Cardinals official Bernie Miklasz noted there were other issues plaguing the team as well.
“Tonight's loss in Kansas City leaves the Cardinals 11-for-79 (.139 batting average) with runners in scoring position in the month of August,” Miklasz tweeted. “The bullpen was bad tonight, but that's not the only reason we lost.”
While many have focused on the Cardinals' pitching struggles over the past few years, their offensive struggles have essentially been overlooked.
The team is near the bottom of the major leagues in runs scored, and they acquired Tommy Pham at the trade deadline to balance out their lefty-heavy lineup and add another hitter to bolster the lineup.
Pham is doing well, but the rest of the lineup looks to be in a slump, and to get the Cardinals out of their slump, they'll need to step up their offense, especially with runners in scoring position.
With Saturday's loss, the Cardinals fall to 60-58 on the season, two games out of the National League Wild Card race and eight games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central Division.
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