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This affirmation that the Cardinals were looking for, the position they wanted to assert in support of their claims, bend their improvement, and reveal a fistful of iron on an ascending trajectory that escaped them late into the night of Sunday.
the crisp game, the kind of game the Cardinals have won recently, has softened in the fifth inning when Yairo Munoz rushed a game on a grounder to second base and the Cubs quickly capitalized. Three unearned races broke a tie game and sent the Cubs to a 5-2 victory at Busch Stadium. The defeat prevented the Cardinals from winning the first place in the Cubs and, just as vital at this point of the season, to finish on an eloquent score with a record of victories
. have a winning record in his last eight games against rival Cubs, and finished 4-4. They were lucky enough to have a winning record in a key sequence of 11 games, and instead slipped to 5-6.
They do not recoil.
They do not progress, however.
"It shows what we already knew – that we can compete with anyone," said interim manager Mike Shildt, who led the club at 6-6 in his first dozen games. "We are finally competing with ourselves. We put our bar against the way we play. It's a good barometer playing a team that we pursue. Go 4-4 – not what we would like. We just won the series, so we're encouraged by that. "
Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs debutant, held the Cardinals at the two points of their first Marcell Ozuna tour.The Cardinals managed only two more shots on Hendricks, and once the right-hander had an idea of his change, he withdrew the last 17 Cardinals that he faced.From Munoz's double in the second inning to his leading run in eighth, the Cardinals did not have a scoring. that the eighth they brought the race to a tie and got zero on two occasions.The Cardinals dropped to 1-30 this season scoring two points or less, and that lack of, anything, against Hendricks (7-9) left them exposed to the smallest thing.
In an aggressive move in the fifth At the end of the match, Shildt turned to left-handed Austin Gomber for the top of the Cubs command immediately after a runner has reached starter John Gant. Rdinals held the Cubs by two hits before No. 9 hitter David Bote hit an infield single that ricocheted out of Gant. Gomber faced left-handed batters Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward with Ben Zobrist caught in the game.
The match was leaning against Gober, as Zobrist had a more pronounced fondness for a baseball against a southpaw, and that What the Cardinals wanted.
It's also what Gomber gave them
Rizzo chopped a ball in the middle of the field as Munoz made a dive stop to get one by the second. Zobrist hit a hard ground that squeezed the line for a double and his third of four hits. That only moved Rizzo to third place and kept the match tied with two outs. Heyward forced with a soft grounder to assist. He unleashed himself in the drummer's box, which made Muñoz rush just enough to muffle the exchange of the glove by hand. Heyward was safe. Rizzo scored. The Cubs had a lead. When Javy Baez followed with a two-point double on a misplaced curved curve, the Cubs had the game.
Munoz said the "balloon has escaped" and he "has just missed. "
"It really goes down to a pitch," said Gomber. "Honestly, I thought I had a soft touch in my sleeve, made good shots at the guys I needed to have, and then I did not throw at the one who was really rocking right now. He made me pay. "
The three innings of the inning were unmerited, which left some of the blank Cardinals 'improvement for the weekend.
A few hours before the start of the Cubs' three-game tour, The Cardinals are reshuffling their paddock, and early Monday's game against Colorado, they will have five new raises.Gomber is part of the group – he went from a starter spot to a leading role as a southpaw He will be joined by Chasen Shreve on Monday, as the Cardinals have acquired Yankees.The new look of the paddock has been successful Friday and Saturday, and in 10 2/3 innings against the Cubs have not allowed a deserved race.
The enclosure was younger, clearer and, in three days, improved
"You're dealing with guys coming in and launching real attacks offensives, attack and take advance on the batters, controlling the mptes, "said Shildt. "You have guys who clearly have the ability to do it.In the end, credit comes back to them.They get the outs.I like the look of it.The change was positive for sure. "
And yet, the bullpen is also at the tipping point of the team.
The Cardinals received calls closer to Bud Norris. Colorado and Boston are two teams that have shown interest, sources said. Norris only has a one year contract and the Cardinals have pointed out that they are making moves for 2019 at this point, but losing the veteran and his 20 stops would be a clear signal. Forget the musical chairs, moving Norris would stop the music
The front office announced, publicly and internally, the 11 games of the All-Star break as a good time to audit the team for the deadline Tuesday exchanges.
The Cardinals, faithful to their record, remained tied
The kick of Zobrist off Gant (3-4) in the first heat allowed the Cubs to take the lead. Marcell Ozuna responded with a two-point and two-point home run. On Sunday, the Ozuna Grand Slam ended a month-long period without a circuit, and he followed his first consecutive game with a home run since mid-June. Rizzo equalized the game with a solo circuit. Four field balls – three of which did not leave the infield – and double Baez meant the game and prevented the Cardinals from winning
"When you win the series," said Ozuna, "and Is important. "
The Cardinals clung to it that they play teams in front of them in the standings. While they will have to win nearly two out of three to reach 90 wins, they will outgrow the opponents in the process just because they play a lot of them. Of the last 57 games of the Cardinals, 30 are against teams in front of them in the rankings of the National League. That includes seven games against the Rockies, who open a four-game series at Busch on Monday.
The Rockies (57-47) swept Oakland and has won eight of his last 10 games in a game from West Newfoundland. -Leader Los Angeles. Colorado holds one of the league spots, and by winning the upcoming series, the Cardinals (53-52) can narrow the gap between them and Colorado to less than three.
Divide the series and .500 cement begins to dry.
Lose the series and delicate maths become front-office calculations.
"You look at things in stretching," Shildt says. "The 11 games were important, but the following are also important, it's more the body of work, I'm satisfied with the body of work, the consistency (with which) we do things." being not perfect, we are starting to see a consistent brand of baseball.We want to see results more consistent with that. "
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