The St. Louis Cardinals have lost three straight, and a playoff berth is not looking likely. They now sit two games below .500 and 8 games back of the final wild-card spot in the National League. The Cards will finish out the homestand with a weekend series facing the Royals. Check out why the St. Louis Cardinals need to find hope against the Royals down below.
The Kansas City Royals haven’t had much of a smooth-sailing season either. They are 13 games out of the wild card race with a record of 47-60. The postseason is quickly approaching, so if the Royals need these three wins against their fellow Missouri team.
The Cardinals lost all three crucial games against the Braves, which has put them in a major hole. St. Louis is 4-6 in their last 10 games and has disappointed since the hot start after the all-star break. This will be an entertaining series for the fans because it is two Missouri teams battling it out, but other than that, it won’t mean much.
The Cardinals Are A Mess In Every Part of the Organization
St. Louis GM John Mozeliak made some questionable moves at the trade deadline, to say the least. Taking a gamble on Jon Lester and J.A. Happ, who are well past their prime, hasn’t been the answer for the Cards as they both didn’t pitch very well in their debuts. This led to the bullpen throwing a bunch of innings and struggling to throw strikes.
In the series against the Braves, the offense did not help the pitchers whatsoever. Scoring just 9 runs in three games just won’t cut it in today’s MLB. And especially when your starting pitcher is getting rocked in the first few innings, and then the bullpen can’t even throw a strike….Alex Reyes. The Cardinals will have to get the bats going against the Royals.
The few bright spots for this Cardinal’s team have been Tyler O’Neil and Harrison Bader. The young outfielders have been spraying the ball everywhere with a combined 8 hits over the three games. O’Neil had a few RBI’s as well and lifted his batting average to .276.
The Cardinals are now looking at 11.5 games back of the Brewers, which is near to impossible to come back from and take 1st place. The team morale can’t be doing great after a bullpen blow-up in Thursday night’s game. The team needs these wins in order to salvage the season and at least start winning some games for this amazing fan base.
The Kansas City Royals Will Attempt To Add To Their Winning Streak
The Royals will travel down from Chicago to St. Louis happy after capturing the final two games of the series against the White Sox. The Royals lineup hasn’t been all impressive this year, but they managed to score 12 runs in the past two games. We will see if the Royals sustain their success against the struggling Cardinals.
Salvador Perez has played well all year, batting .276 and hitting a career-high 27 home runs already. Edward Olivares has been good these past few games as well, with a home run on Thursday night. He is batting .271 and has 4 long balls. Whit Merrifield has been alright this year, as he made the all-star team for the second time in his career.
The Royals don’t have much going for them on the mound this year. The three guys that have the most innings pitched all have an ERA above 5.00. Danny Duffy was shipped off to Los Angeles, so now Mike Minor is the so-called ace. This Royals team will need to hit well in order to beat this Cardinals team.
Pitcher Probables and Prediction
Friday, August 6: Adam Wainwright vs Mike Minor
This matchup features the two best pitchers for both squads. Adam Wainwright has had a very impressive year with a 3.53 ERA and a 9-6 record. Mike Minor hasn’t been great with a 5.31 ERA but managed to tally up 8 wins on the year with 9 losses. I’m taking the Cardinals in this one, and predict the offense goes off for 8 runs in a big win.
Saturday, August 7: Kwang Hyun Kim vs Brad Keller
Kwang Hyun Kim will take the mound for the Redbirds, and he has been solid for the season. He holds an even record of 6-6 with an outstanding record of 3.31. The Cardinals have been thankful for Kim’s production. Brad Keller owns a 7-10 record with a 5.64 ERA. I’m taking the Cardinals once again and think they start to gain some momentum with a 5-3 win.
Sunday, August 8: Jon Lester vs Kris Bubic
Jon Lester will get a chance to redeem himself after an ugly first start to his Cardinal career. He is now 3-6 with a 5.38 ERA on the year and hasn’t gotten into a groove yet. Kris Bubic is the opposing pitcher who is 3.5 with a 4.57 ERA. I’m going to give this win to the Royals, as I don’t fully trust Lester, and the bullpen will be used up by the end of this series.
