The last few weeks have featured some of the worst baseball that the Cardinals have played in a long time. Not only were they mired in a lengthy losing streak, but the games they lost were frequently and painfully non-competitive.
After winning four in a row on the road against the White Sox and Diamondbacks in late May, the Cardinals were 8 games over .500 and in first place in the division. The next two days split open the cracks that were increasingly evident in the club’s play. They lost the get-away game in Arizona 9-2 and the opener in LA 9-4.