The St. Louis Cardinals Struggle After MLB All-Star Break, Fall to San Diego Padres 7-3
The St. Louis Cardinals’ return from the MLB All-Star break has been nothing short of abysmal. On Sunday, the team suffered yet another defeat, this time against the San Diego Padres in a 7-3 loss during the rubber match. The Cardinals’ record now stands at 56-67 overall, dipping one game below the .500 mark.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Cardinals Struggle Continues with Loss to Padres
The St. Louis Cardinals’ return from the MLB All-Star break has been nothing short of abysmal. On Sunday, the team fell to the San Diego Padres 7-3 in a rubber match showdown. This loss drops the Cardinals to a disappointing 56-67 overall record, one game below the .500 mark.
Under the leadership of skipper Oli Marmol, the Cardinals have yet to win a series in the second half of the season. Their last series win was on July 10, and they had a chance to break that streak on Sunday. However, they were unable to overcome a dominant performance from San Diego’s Dylan Cease, who threw a 5.0 inning shutout and struck out nine Cardinal batters.
On the other side, the Padres had no trouble figuring out the St. Louis pitching staff. Starter Andre Pallante lasted 5.0 innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits. But it was reliever Gordon Graceffo who struggled the most, giving up four earned runs in his appearance. San Diego scored seven unanswered runs through eight innings, including home runs from Jake Cronenworth and Ramon Laureano.
Despite a late rally from the Cardinals in the ninth inning, they were unable to overcome the deficit. As of August 3, Marmol and his team sit 12.0 games out of first place in the National League Central standings and 6.5 games out of a playoff spot.
Next up for the Cardinals is a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in California. The first game is scheduled for Monday, August 4 at 9:10 p.m.
