ST. LOUIS -- After the Dodgers put a major scare into the Cardinals on Tuesday, battled from behind for their 26th comeback victory on Wednesday and then closed the door on the series at Busch Stadium on Thursday, it all looked infinitely familiar to All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado.
It reminded him of last September, when the Cardinals coupled good pitching with good hitting, oozed confidence throughout their lineup and played with a fearlessness while winning 17 games straight.
“That [Dodgers] offense is probably the best offense in the game, right?” asked Arenado following Los Angeles’ 4-0 victory over the Cardinals on Thursday. “So they probably feel like they are never out of any game. We felt like that last year when we were going through our streak -- we were never out of any game. Right now, we’re just kind of grinding.”
The Cardinals ended one of their toughest stretches -- both in terms of the quantity and quality of opponents. Not only have they played 14 games in 14 nights, but they all came against teams with winning records -- and ones who figure to factor heavily into the chase for the National League crown in October. On the heels of blowing a 6-0 lead in a Wednesday loss and getting blanked on Thursday, the Cardinals emerged from the grueling stretch against the Phillies (two series), Braves and Dodgers at a humbling 5-9. The Cards lost three of those series, but they did manage a split against the Phillies in the second meeting.
Falling to the Dodgers -- after St. Louis had put itself in a position to win the first two games of the series -- proved to be especially frustrating for the Cardinals.
“You get a feel for where you stand with guys who are playing well, and [the Dodgers] have a really good record,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “I feel like we match up just fine with these teams. We’re at a spot where we’re still a couple of guys down, and we’re in a part of our schedule where it’s been tough and guys are tired but they don’t want days off. We’re where we are, and with how we played against these guys, I’m OK with it.”
A look inside the numbers shows some of the Cardinals’ most glaring deficiencies. Against their past 14 foes, the Cardinals hit just .224 with only 14 home runs and 39 RBIs. Some of that can be chalked up to St. Louis missing starters Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader and Yadier Molina, while some of it could be because they have faced Zack Wheeler (twice), Max Fried, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson, Aaron Nola and rousing rookie Spencer Strider.
Also, Paul Goldschmidt -- the overwhelming favorite to win the NL MVP Award -- is going through his worst rut of the season and has been stuck on 299 career home runs for 16 games.
A pitching staff that is still without starters Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz has posted a 3.88 ERA over the past 14 games while limiting opponents to a .260 batting average and 17 home runs. Adam Wainwright pitched a complete game July 8 and lost, and he got a no-decision last time out when the bullpen squandered a six-run lead.
When All-Star closer Ryan Helsley has been available and on the mound, the Cardinals have been dominant; when he’s not -- such as on Wednesday -- the holes in the St. Louis bullpen have proven glaring.
“We pitch well, and we don’t score runs. We score runs and we don’t pitch,” lamented Arenado, who notched his 30th multi-hit game on Thursday. “We’re not putting it all together, and the good teams put it together. The Dodgers are a good example of a team putting it together. That’s the best team in the National League. They pitched well and they score runs. We do that at times, but we’re not putting it together.”
Arenado, who has a stated goal of wanting to be a part of a division champion for the first time in his career, feels the Cardinals can be one of the last teams standing if they can get healthy. Of course, Arenado said, it wouldn’t hurt for the team to be aggressive in bolstering the roster prior to the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline.
“If we get a healthy [Flaherty], Matz and Bader, and we get O’Neill going, why not? I don’t see why we can’t get to where we want to go,” Arenado said with conviction. “A few pieces here and there could help us, too. It helped last year when we got [Jon] Lester and [J.A.] Happ. A few pieces here and there definitely goes a long way, also. There are some things we need, and it always feels good when you add. We’re not out of it and the most important thing is we’re still in it. So there’s no reason why we can’t take a big step forward in the second half.”