It was a tough game today. It didn’t start well, and it didn’t end well.
The White Sox went to work early against Lance Lynn and touched him for three runs, two earned through the first five innings.
Down 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Cardinals put up a five spot, scoring on Brendan Donovan’s two-run double and taking the lead on Nolan Arenado’s three-run blast. But it only went south from there.
Korey Lee tied the game with a two-run single in the sixth, and the game remained tied until the top of the 10th. Former Cardinal Tommy Pham drove in the winning run. But the game didn’t end for another three hours.
Rain came through and delayed the game when Nolan Gorman was at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. When the count was 0-1, the delay began. After multiple attempts to remove the tarp and resume play, the weather finally cooperated. Ivan Herrera was sent to pinch hit, and he struck out to end the game. We’ll discuss this below in our takeaways.
Feast or Famine
This is how it’s been for the Cardinals offense this year. They score their runs in bunches then hit a dry spell. All five runs were scored in the fifth for St. Louis today.
To me, this is frustrating, and I think I speak for everybody when I say this. The Cardinals just aren’t consistent offensively. They have the players that you need to have a strong offense, yet they never click at the same time. After the fifth, the Cardinals missed several chances, including one in the bottom of the ninth and the big one in the bottom of the 10th.
Without a doubt, this was a game that they should have won. The offense is the reason the Cardinals fell short today and still remain under .500.
I wrote a piece a few days ago about how change needs to happen if they really want to win, and I think a lot of it starts with Turner Ward, the hitting coach. Clearly, his approach isn’t working, even with all the stars in the lineup, and I’ve got to believe that he won’t last too much longer if the Cardinals can’t get going offensively. I understand that the players haven’t exactly done their job, but Ward shares some of the blame.
CB Bucknor strikes again
How bad was CB Bucknor today. I said we’d get to the game-ending strikeout, and well, here we are. I’m going to complain a little here.
Yes, the Cardinals offense is the reason they lost today, but the final pitch to Herrera that was called strike three was way outside. I’m not saying that if he got the call right the Cardinals win, but it’s time for him, Angel Hernandez, and other umpires to be held accountable for their ineptitude.
In reality, I’m sure Bucknor probably just wanted the game to end, and I can’t say I blame him for that. But we were waiting for three hours, and for the game to end on a garbage call like that is just not right. Bucknor at least has to do his job and respect the integrity of the game, which he did not in that moment.
It’s also possible that he thought that was honestly a strike. Who knows? But come on. You can’t end the game like that, especially after such a long delay. The ump show continues.
Matthew Liberatore takes the ball for the series finale as the Cardinals try to take two of three from the South Siders. First pitch is at 1:15 p.m.