ST. LOUIS -- The dominant season start that made Carlos Martinez's goal of jockeying for Cy Young consideration a tangible possibility has been replaced by a more perplexing reality since his return from the disabled list earlier this month.
The Cardinals lost behind Martinez for a third consecutive time on Saturday after he was unable to hold an early lead. The night fizzled into a 6-3 loss to the Cubs, who assured themselves of a series win by scoring four unanswered runs in front of the largest Busch Stadium crowd (47,168) of the season.
The defeat extended the Cardinals' losing streak to a season-most four games, and it ended with Martinez still groping for his command.