After a jaw-dropping comeback to win the series against the Reds yesterday, it was fair to wonder if the Cardinals had more in the tank today when they fell behind 4-1. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be today.
Miles Mikolas drew the start for the Cardinals. He went five innings and allowed three runs, two of them earned. Not great by any stretch, but he did keep the Cardinals in the game, and that’s about all you can ask.
The Cardinals only run scored in the bottom of the third when yesterday’s hero Yohel Pozo came to the plate with Nolan Arenado on base. Pozo singled him home to tie the game at one apiece.
But today was all Cincinnati. The Cardinals couldn’t get anything more going. Let’s get into some takeaways.
Cards can’t solve Abbott
The Cardinals faced a man they have had trouble with in the past again today. Andrew Abbott came into today’s start with a 1.84 ERA, and he carved the Cardinals up like nobody’s business.
Granted, the Cardinals didn’t really have a lot of chances to do damage, but that’s more of a credit to how well Abbott pitched. He allowed just one run on three hits over seven innings, recording three strikeouts and not allowing a walk.
Ultimately, it’s just one game, so it’s nothing to get too concerned about. The Cardinals could come back tomorrow and put up 10 runs on the Cubs, but it just never felt like the Cardinals were in today’s game.7
Graceffo returns
Prior to the game, St. Louis optioned Andre Granillo to Memphis and recalled Gordon Graceffo, which I thought made sense given how much the bullpen was used yesterday and that they’re going to need length out of guys.
That’s why Michael McGreevy will be back to start Tuesday’s game with the Cubs.
But Graceffo came in in the top of the eighth inning and basically did his job. He threw two scoreless innings and struck out two batters, allowing just one hit.
This is good to see. The Cardinals depth options on the pitching side are thin, but to have Graceffo get in there and eat up two innings was important, and it gave some of the Cardinals high-leverage arms a little bit of a break.
The series with the Cubs begins tomorrow at 6:45 p.m. The Cardinals will send Matthew Liberatore to the mound