The St. Louis Cardinals won the first game of their Monday doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds, but the bullpen showed it still cannot be trusted to hold a lead. While the team secured a 2-1 victory in the opener, the relief pitchers struggled to close out the day/night sweep, leaving fans wondering if the roster is truly ready for a playoff push.
The Pitching Plan Fell Apart
Andre Pallante did his job perfectly in the first game, turning into one of the most reliable starters the team has seen all season. He kept the Reds quiet early, even after Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and JJ Bleday hit back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases in the first inning. Although Pallante induced a double play from Toglia to stop the threat, Eugenio Suarez hit a sacrifice fly to center that gave Cincinnati a 1-0 lead.
After the offense finally woke up, a 93 mph sinker blasted into the right-centerfield seats by Iván Herrera tied the game in the fourth inning. Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson hit back-to-back singles before Joshua Báez grounded into a fielder’s choice. Masyn Winn slapped a single into right field to give St. Louis a 2-1 advantage. The bullpen had a chance to protect this small lead, but the pressure mounted as the game wore on.
Missed Chances in the Sixth
Things looked promising when the Cardinals added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning, a move I wish they made more often. Nathan Church singled Jordan Walker in to extend the lead to 3-1, following a hustle double to left field that Walker achieved. Blaze Jordan drove in Church with a single to left two batters later for another St. Louis run, raising the score to 4-1.
However, the Reds immediately clawed their way back. Bleday and Suarez hit back-to-back one-out singles in the bottom of the sixth. Bleday scored when Toglia stroked a double to left, cutting the lead down to 4-2. The situation got messy when McLain flied out to left and Bryan Torres threw the ball over home plate, but the relief corps failed to put the game away when they had the chance. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
A Pattern We Cannot Ignore
This doubleheader highlighted a recurring issue that goes beyond just one bad night. Viva El Birdos reported that the under-rated Reds bullpen held down the Cardinals offense during the night game, resulting in a 1-13 record with runners in scoring position. If the opposing pitching can shut down our bats so easily, our own relief pitchers must be flawless to win.
We saw a similar struggle in the night game where short starts turned a close contest into a battle of the bullpens. Quinn Mathews worked himself into trouble in the second inning with a couple of walks and ended up throwing 32 pitches in just the fourth inning. He compiled 5 strikeouts and 3 walks in the first three innings, but his command drifted.
