(Busch Stadium) To say that the St. Louis Cardinals had a rough last few days would be an understatement. Being swept by Houston and Texas over the last five games is a first for the team since August of 1983–the last time they did not win a game during a multi-team homestand.
“We have a good team,” said a frustrated Mike Matheny after Sunday’s 5-4 loss. “Say what you want I don’t really care–this team is way better than what anybody’s giving us credit for. But the proof’s in what you do and we haven’t done it on a consistent basis. It’s frustrating for all of us because we started to see little glimpses of what this team can be and it’s frustrating when you can’t put it all together.”
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The Cardinals held the lead after seven innings in their last three games and the five losing streak is the longest since July of 2013.
“To me, it’s only a matter of time,” continued Matheny. “There’s no reason why we wouldn’t be able to play good at home, we always have. We love being here. It’s just one of those runs, just like there’s bad runs in everybody’s season. Every team has these kinds of things that you’ve got just fight your way through. But you’ve got to clean them up, you just can’t sit back on your heels and expect them to change–there’s things we need to do better and we’re going to have to be proactive about that.”
So how do Matheny and his players go about being proactive?
“Get to work, that’s the only way to clean things up,” answered the manager. “Get to work whether it’s on your mental process or it’s in your execution, or if there’s small things that we can do. Those little things right now and those are conversations we’ve had and continue to have–we do a lot of teaching on the bench right in the middle of the game. There’s little things that can happen that lead up to big things.
“So we need to play close attention to the details, the small ones and the big stuff will take care of itself–and that’s the win. The win will be there if we clean up our game. All the way around, I’m not excluding myself. It’s all the way through, we’ve all got to look in the mirror. This is when you put your nose down and you find out what you’re made of.
“That’s what I see this team, in the past, I’ve seen this team really rise–is when you get pushed back into a corner because you realize that you’re not doing what you need to do. We’ve got to fix it, that’s all there is to it.”
Matt Carpenter, who extended his hitting streak to 12 games (.463, 19-41) was equally frustrated but felt it was too soon to hit the panic button.
“Yeah, we gotta do something about this,” he said. “Just gotta start finding a way to play better. I don’t think we’re that far off–we were in every game. Just haven’t won them.”
“It certainly wasn’t–it’s not ideal. I haven’t been a part of anything like that since I’ve been in St. Louis. To lose 5 and 0 like that, it’s not ideal.”
As for having a special team meeting or extra conversations regarding their recent stretch, action will probably speak louder than words.
“There’s not magic potion or special way to get out of something like this, you’ve just got to go out and play well,” said Carpenter. “Going out and winning Game 1 in Chicago can be a big boost of momentum. Winning a series there would be a big boost of momentum. If we can find a way to get there and play well and do well in Chicago, that can change a lot of feelings and confidence can get going and hopefully have a good roadtrip.”
SHOULDER OKAY FOR CARP
–In the 7th inning, Carpenter singled to left-center but was thrown out attempting to turn the play into a double. The Cardinals challenged the play, believing that Rougned Odor may have pushed him off the bag while applying the tag at second.
The play was upheld, but there was some concern regarding Carpenter–who had awkwardly stretched to keep his hand on the base and then appeared to be dealing with some discomfort.
“No, I’ve had a bunch people ask me that,” said Carpenter. “I was just stretching and I was talking to Mabry about the pitcher we were about to face and then I went underneath to look at the video. So, no–I’m perfectly fine.”
photo credit: Bill Greenblatt/UPI
