Frustration is mounting for the last-place St. Louis Cardinals. Less than a month into the season the team is 10-13 and has scored the fifth fewest runs in the league with just 81. Two issues are holding the team back: The Cardinals are struggling to get clutch hits and good contact.
When asked what the issue might be with the offense after the Cardinals were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend, Cardinals Manager Oliver Marmol said it’s not a lack of preparation or work from his players.
“They’re just struggling at the moment and trying to find our way out of it,” Marmol said in his postgame press conference on Sunday. “We’ve got to be patient through that. It sucks. Nothing about it we like or they like.”
Oli Marmol as the #STLCards drop their fourth straight: “Frustrating weekend. … It’s frustrating. Sonny [Gray] did a really nice job today. Did exactly what we needed.” pic.twitter.com/h40Fty4nGE
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) April 21, 2024
Poor Performance With Runners In Scoring Position
The Cardinals team batting average of .220 only gets worse when runners are in scoring position. They are third worst in MLB when they have a man in scoring position with a .201 average. With bases loaded it gets even worse. The team is batting .118 with bases loaded. The league median in that situation is .233.
On Sunday’s shoutout loss to the Brewers, the Cardinals managed to get a runner on third base with one out in the first two innings. In neither case could the team bring the baserunner the final 90 feet to get ace Sonny Gray a run of support. By the time Gray was knocked out of the game in the seventh inning after finally allowing a run, the team had failed to produce a run still. The Cardinals ended up losing to the Brewers with the 2-0 loss as the exclamation point on the series sweep.
“It’s frustrating, Sonny did a really nice job today, gave us a true shot did exactly what we needed,” Marmol said after the game.
Sonny Gray (6.1 IP, 2 ER) on the Brewers key hit that broke a scoreless tie late: “In the moment, I was going to live or die with my best. … If I had it back, maybe I would just understand the situation more. … I’ll sit down, look at that, talk through it and learn from it.” pic.twitter.com/EudIuVj0hH
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) April 21, 2024
“I just think something is going to click,” Gray said after the loss when asked about the offense. “I don’t know what it is, I don’t know where it’s going to come from. It can’t be forced, but something is going to happen at some point and it’s going to click and we’re going to go.”
The worst offender for the Cardinals of underperformance with runners in scoring position has been Nolan Gorman. Until recently the Cardinals second baseman had been batting in the heart of the lineup. With Runners in scoring position this season he has batted .130 with 10 strikeouts.
Weak Contact
Another issue for the Cardinals bats has been the contact in general. Just 36.7 percent of the time the team makes contact are the balls considered hard hit of 95 mph off the bat or higher according to Baseball Savant. That is seventh worst in the league. The Cardinals are third worst in the league for barrels per plate appearance too. Finding the optimal combination of exit velocity and launch angle just four percent of the time a batter steps into the box.
The team is making weak contact 5.7 percent of the time. That is second worst in MLB and well above the league average of 4.4 percent. Plate discipline hasn’t been much of an issue. The team is better than league average in both the percentage of time they chase a ball out of the zone and they will swing at a pitch in the zone. They are also about league average at swinging at pitches on the edges.
All-Star infielders Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt are rarely finding the barrel on their swings. Each are only finding the barrel on 1.1 percent of their plate appearances. Both of them are hitting balls more than 95 mph off the bat fewer than a third of the times they make contact.
Cardinals Believe Things Will Turn Around
The team went 0-9 in Sunday’s loss with runners in scoring position. Marmol said it’s not about the moments when runners are on when asked about the lack of hits in those situations.
“Certain guys come up that aren’t feeling well in certain situations and it’s no different whether you have a runner on or not, it’s just do you feel good about where you’re at or not,” Marmol said. “Unfortunately, we’ve got guys that are coming up in situations and they don’t feel good about where they’re at and the outcome is unfortunate.”
Cardinals management doesn’t believe anything is broken. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Bally Sports Midwest over the weekend he believes that the roster they put together will start hitting.
“It’s really just about being patient. These guys know what they’re doing, they know how to do it,” Mozeliak said. “In time we think it’s going to work out.”
John Mozeliak as the #STLCards start the season 9-12 and search for some sustained momentum on offense: “I have confidence we’ll get to where we need to go. … There’s a lot of confidence still in this clubhouse. There’s a lot of frustration, no doubt about it.” pic.twitter.com/3PcPxSuzqO
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) April 21, 2024
Main Photo Credits: Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports
