What’s the most gut-wrenching way to lose a baseball game? The Cardinals seem determined to find out.
I don’t know why, but I always remember the way Joe Buck described Curt Schilling’s heroic start against the Yankees in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS: “Like a scene from The Natural, Schilling climbs the mound and prepares to take on this Yankee lineup.” Hearing it now still gives me chills.
However, the ending of Thursday’s Mets/Cardinals game was not like a scene from The Natural. It was more like your worst day at Little League. In a year full of subpar performances—at least by Cardinal standards—no failure has stood out more than the team’s chronic bullpen woes.
The bullpen hasn’t been their only shortcoming. The Cardinals haven’t hit particularly well—or for much power—and their fielding certainly hasn’t drawn rave reviews. But what’s been so frustrating about the Cardinals’ bullpen is that it should have been one of the team’s strengths. Seung Hwan Oh was untouchable last year while Kevin Siegrist’s treatment of left-handed hitters was cruel and unusual (not that he was any more forgiving against right-handers). Even Trevor Rosenthal came to life after the All-Star break (1.74 ERA).
But instead of building on that success, the bullpen has become a black hole where leads go to die. Lately Oh, Rosenthal and Brett Cecil have taken turns squandering late-inning chances and Thursday it was Cecil who was called upon to protect the lead. Handed a one-run advantage in the eighth inning, the left-hander promptly served up a solo home run to Wilmer Flores, knotting the game at two.
Before Cecil blew his sixth save of the season, Lance Lynn provided six innings of stellar work, limiting the Mets to just three hits and one run while notching five strikeouts. Lynn has been remarkable over his last three starts, collecting a stunning 0.47 ERA during that span. It’s obviously helped his trade value as the 30-year-old is being pursued by a number of teams including the cross-state rival Kansas City Royals. An impending free agent, Lynn would make a fine rental for a starter-needy contender and could be a good consolation prize for teams that miss out on Sonny Gray.
An inning after Cecil’s debacle, manager Mike Matheny inserted Rosenthal into the game, hoping he could preserve the tie and extend the game to extra innings. He failed on both accounts. Rosenthal yielded a leadoff walk to Michael Conforto and later let up a two-out single to T.J. Rivera, moving Yoenis Cespedes (who had reached on a fielder’s choice) over to third base. With the game hanging in the balance, Jose Reyes rolled a ground ball to Matt Carpenter, who scooped it along the first base foul line. Carpenter looked to first but no one was covering. Realizing his mistake, Rosenthal sprinted to first base, but the damage was already done. Rosenthal had no chance of catching the blisteringly fast Reyes, who rolled into first for an infield single. Cespedes scored from third, capping the Mets come-from-behind victory—and sealing yet another Cardinals’ collapse—in bizarre fashion.
Rosenthal owned up to his mistake but that didn’t stop Carpenter from annihilating him in his post-game remarks. “It just can’t happen,” he said of Rosenthal’s gaffe. “You can make errors. You can strike out. But you can’t do that. And he knows it.”
From the bitter tone, you almost get the feeling Carpenter is sick of losing so many close games. And who could blame him? Thursday marked the Cardinals’ third walk-off loss in their last seven games. The other two came against the Pirates last weekend.
Speaking of Pittsburgh, could the Bucs be any hotter? Left for dead a few weeks ago, the Pirates have miraculously climbed back to .500 on the strength of a five-game winning streak that began with Sunday’s comeback win over the Cardinals. Suddenly the Pirates are just three games behind the NL-leading Brewers, who have dropped five straight including their entire four-game set at Pittsburgh.
Everything’s been clicking for the red-hot Pirates lately, but Pittsburgh’s rapid turnaround wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Gregory Polanco. The 25-year-old outfielder has had a month for the ages, hitting .390 with six doubles and three homers over 59 July at-bats. During that span, his average has shot up 31 points from .237 to its current .268.
With base-stealing dynamo Starling Marte back from suspension and Gerrit Cole finally living up to his All-Star reputation—he’s undefeated with a 1.89 ERA and a 22/1 K/BB ratio over his last three starts—the Pirates are suddenly becoming a real threat in the wide-open NL Central. In fact, with Pittsburgh as hot as any team in the league, the Pirates have scrapped their plans to be sellers at the trade deadline, which means Andrew McCutchen’s tenure in the Steel City has been extended indefinitely.
The Pirates aren’t the only team making noise in the NL Central. The Cubs have also been on a tear, winning six straight while trimming Milwaukee’s division lead to just one. They’ve done it by swinging for the fences, tying Washington for the league lead with 16 second-half homers. Jose Quintana was still playing for the White Sox the last time the Cubs suffered a defeat.
With Milwaukee’s lead slipping in the NL Central, look for the Brewers to make a splash at the trade deadline. One player they’ve already been linked to is Justin Verlander. The right-hander hasn’t had a great season, is well into his 30s and would cost the Brewers an arm and a leg. But Verlander finished runner-up in AL Cy Young voting last year and the rebuilding Tigers may be willing to take on some of the roughly $60 million remaining on his contract to broker a deal. As good as Milwaukee has been this year, a team featuring Jimmy Nelson and Chase Anderson (currently on the DL with a strained oblique) as its top starters may not be cut out for October baseball.
There’s always the possibility that the Cubs could pull away like they did last year, but with only 4.5 games separating the top four teams in the division—yes, the Cardinals for all their warts are still in it—the NL Central has a chance to go down to the wire. Until then, enjoy the chaos.
AL Quick Hits: The Twins are nearing a deal for Braves starter Jaime Garcia. Right now the sides are sorting through medical records, which could take a while considering Garcia’s lengthy injury history. The Braves will receive a minor league prospect in the deal while the Twins are expected to cover most of Garcia’s remaining $4.79 million salary. Aaron Blair will replace Garcia in the Braves’ starting rotation while Garcia will take the place of either Bartolo Colon or Kyle Gibson … The Mariners acquired reliever David Phelps from the Marlins in exchange for four prospects on Thursday. The 30-year-old right-hander has compiled a 3.45 ERA with 18 holds this season … After clearing waivers, the Angels released Danny Espinosa, who was designated for assignment on Sunday. After slugging a career-high 24 homers with the Nationals in 2016, Espinosa has hit just .162 with 91 strikeouts in 228 at-bats this year … Xander Bogaerts returned to the Red Sox lineup Thursday a day after being diagnosed with a sprained right hand. He went 1-for-4 with a double in an 8-6 loss to the Blue Jays. Justin Smoak paced Toronto with a pair of solo homers in the win … The Yankees have entered the Sonny Gray sweepstakes. The A’s have “named their price,” according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, and are waiting to see if the Yankees meet their demands. Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the A’s brought a scout to watch the Yankees’ Double-A team in Trenton on Thursday night … According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Yankees are still open to adding a first baseman even after acquiring Todd Frazier from the White Sox on Tuesday. Right now Frazier is handling third base with Chase Headley and rookie Garrett Cooper platooning at first. The Yankees had previously shown interest in A’s first baseman Yonder Alonso, who earned his first All-Star nod earlier this month … ESPN’s Buster Olney is hearing that the Astros are the “most motivated” in trade talks for Orioles closer Zach Britton. The Dodgers are another team to watch for Britton … An MRI on Steven Souza’s strained left hip showed no structural damage. The Rays are calling him day-to-day … Jake Diekman completed a 21-pitch bullpen session on Thursday. That constituted his first mound work in nine months following multiple colon surgeries. He’s hoping to join the Rangers’ bullpen by the end of 2017.
NL Quick Hits: To clear a roster spot for Grant Dayton, who returned from the disabled list on Thursday, the Dodgers designated Sergio Romo for assignment. The 34-year-old has struggled to a dismal 6.12 ERA this season but shouldn’t take long to resurface … The Padres activated Hunter Renfroe from the disabled list Thursday while placing Manuel Margot on the paternity leave list. Renfroe missed the minimum 10 days with a strained neck … A.J. Ramos is drawing interest from a number of teams including the Rays. He’d bolster a Tampa Bay bullpen that currently ranks 21st in ERA. The Rays are also said to be eyeing Tigers closer Justin Wilson … Taijuan Walker had been scheduled to start Thursday’s matinee against Cincinnati but was scratched and later placed on the paternity leave list. Patrick Corbin drew the start in his place and picked up his seventh win of the season. Jake Lamb broke out of a 3-for-20 dry spell by slugging two homers and plating six of the Diamondbacks’ 12 runs in the victory … J.D. Martinez was not in the Diamondbacks’ lineup on Thursday. Martinez, who was traded from Detroit earlier this week, took a pitch off his left hand Wednesday in his Arizona debut, though luckily against the Yankees in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS: “Like a scene from The Natural, Schilling climbs the mound and prepares to take on this Yankee lineup.” Hearing it now still gives me chills.
However, the ending of Thursday’s Mets/Cardinals game was not like a scene from The Natural. It was more like your worst day at Little League. In a year full of subpar performances—at least by Cardinal standards—no failure has stood out more than the team’s chronic bullpen woes.
The bullpen hasn’t been their only shortcoming. The Cardinals haven’t hit particularly well—or for much power—and their fielding certainly hasn’t drawn rave reviews. But what’s been so frustrating about the Cardinals’ bullpen is that it should have been one of the team’s strengths. Seung Hwan Oh was untouchable last year while Kevin Siegrist’s treatment of left-handed hitters was cruel and unusual (not that he was any more forgiving against right-handers). Even Trevor Rosenthal came to life after the All-Star break (1.74 ERA).
But instead of building on that success, the bullpen has become a black hole where leads go to die. Lately Oh, Rosenthal and Brett Cecil have taken turns squandering late-inning chances and Thursday it was Cecil who was called upon to protect the lead. Handed a one-run advantage in the eighth inning, the left-hander promptly served up a solo home run to Wilmer Flores, knotting the game at two.
Before Cecil blew his sixth save of the season, Lance Lynn provided six innings of stellar work, limiting the Mets to just three hits and one run while notching five strikeouts. Lynn has been remarkable over his last three starts, collecting a stunning 0.47 ERA during that span. It’s obviously helped his trade value as the 30-year-old is being pursued by a number of teams including the cross-state rival Kansas City Royals. An impending free agent, Lynn would make a fine rental for a starter-needy contender and could be a good consolation prize for teams that miss out on Sonny Gray.
An inning after Cecil’s debacle, manager Mike Matheny inserted Rosenthal into the game, hoping he could preserve the tie and extend the game to extra innings. He failed on both accounts. Rosenthal yielded a leadoff walk to Michael Conforto and later let up a two-out single to T.J. Rivera, moving Yoenis Cespedes (who had reached on a fielder’s choice) over to third base. With the game hanging in the balance, Jose Reyes rolled a ground ball to Matt Carpenter, who scooped it along the first base foul line. Carpenter looked to first but no one was covering. Realizing his mistake, Rosenthal sprinted to first base, but the damage was already done. Rosenthal had no chance of catching the blisteringly fast Reyes, who rolled into first for an infield single. Cespedes scored from third, capping the Mets come-from-behind victory—and sealing yet another Cardinals’ collapse—in bizarre fashion.
Rosenthal owned up to his mistake but that didn’t stop Carpenter from annihilating him in his post-game remarks. “It just can’t happen,” he said of Rosenthal’s gaffe. “You can make errors. You can strike out. But you can’t do that. And he knows it.”
From the bitter tone, you almost get the feeling Carpenter is sick of losing so many close games. And who could blame him? Thursday marked the Cardinals’ third walk-off loss in their last seven games. The other two came against the Pirates last weekend.
Everything’s been clicking for the red-hot Pirates lately, but Pittsburgh’s rapid turnaround wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Gregory Polanco. The 25-year-old outfielder has had a month for the ages, hitting .390 with six doubles and three homers over 59 July at-bats. During that span, his average has shot up 31 points from .237 to its current .268.
With base-stealing dynamo Starling Marte back from suspension and Gerrit Cole finally living up to his All-Star reputation—he’s undefeated with a 1.89 ERA and a 22/1 K/BB ratio over his last three starts—the Pirates are suddenly becoming a real threat in the wide-open NL Central. In fact, with Pittsburgh as hot as any team in the league, the Pirates have scrapped their plans to be sellers at the trade deadline, which means Andrew McCutchen’s tenure in the Steel City has been extended indefinitely.
The Pirates aren’t the only team making noise in the NL Central. The Cubs have also been on a tear, winning six straight while trimming Milwaukee’s division lead to just one. They’ve done it by swinging for the fences, tying Washington for the league lead with 16 second-half homers. Jose Quintana was still playing for the White Sox the last time the Cubs suffered a defeat.
With Milwaukee’s lead slipping in the NL Central, look for the Brewers to make a splash at the trade deadline. One player they’ve already been linked to is Justin Verlander. The right-hander hasn’t had a great season, is well into his 30s and would cost the Brewers an arm and a leg. But Verlander finished runner-up in AL Cy Young voting last year and the rebuilding Tigers may be willing to take on some of the roughly $60 million remaining on his contract to broker a deal. As good as Milwaukee has been this year, a team featuring Jimmy Nelson and Chase Anderson (currently on the DL with a strained oblique) as its top starters may not be cut out for October baseball.
There’s always the possibility that the Cubs could pull away like they did last year, but with only 4.5 games separating the top four teams in the division—yes, the Cardinals for all their warts are still in it—the NL Central has a chance to go down to the wire. Until then, enjoy the chaos.
AL Quick Hits: The Twins are nearing a deal for Braves starter Jaime Garcia. Right now the sides are sorting through medical records, which could take a while considering Garcia’s lengthy injury history. The Braves will receive a minor league prospect in the deal while the Twins are expected to cover most of Garcia’s remaining $4.79 million salary. Aaron Blair will replace Garcia in the Braves’ starting rotation while Garcia will take the place of either Bartolo Colon or Kyle Gibson … The Mariners acquired reliever David Phelps from the Marlins in exchange for four prospects on Thursday. The 30-year-old right-hander has compiled a 3.45 ERA with 18 holds this season … After clearing waivers, the Angels released Danny Espinosa, who was designated for assignment on Sunday. After slugging a career-high 24 homers with the Nationals in 2016, Espinosa has hit just .162 with 91 strikeouts in 228 at-bats this year … Xander Bogaerts returned to the Red Sox lineup Thursday a day after being diagnosed with a sprained right hand. He went 1-for-4 with a double in an 8-6 loss to the Blue Jays. Justin Smoak paced Toronto with a pair of solo homers in the win … The Yankees have entered the Sonny Gray sweepstakes. The A’s have “named their price,” according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, and are waiting to see if the Yankees meet their demands. Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the A’s brought a scout to watch the Yankees’ Double-A team in Trenton on Thursday night … According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Yankees are still open to adding a first baseman even after acquiring Todd Frazier from the White Sox on Tuesday. Right now Frazier is handling third base with Chase Headley and rookie Garrett Cooper platooning at first. The Yankees had previously shown interest in A’s first baseman Yonder Alonso, who earned his first All-Star nod earlier this month … ESPN’s Buster Olney is hearing that the Astros are the “most motivated” in trade talks for Orioles closer Zach Britton. The Dodgers are another team to watch for Britton … An MRI on Steven Souza’s strained left hip showed no structural damage. The Rays are calling him day-to-day … Jake Diekman completed a 21-pitch bullpen session on Thursday. That constituted his first mound work in nine months following multiple colon surgeries. He’s hoping to join the Rangers’ bullpen by the end of 2017.
NL Quick Hits: To clear a roster spot for Grant Dayton, who returned from the disabled list on Thursday, the Dodgers designated Sergio Romo for assignment. The 34-year-old has struggled to a dismal 6.12 ERA this season but shouldn’t take long to resurface … The Padres activated Hunter Renfroe from the disabled list Thursday while placing Manuel Margot on the paternity leave list. Renfroe missed the minimum 10 days with a strained neck … A.J. Ramos is drawing interest from a number of teams including the Rays. He’d bolster a Tampa Bay bullpen that currently ranks 21st in ERA. The Rays are also said to be eyeing Tigers closer Justin Wilson … Taijuan Walker had been scheduled to start Thursday’s matinee against Cincinnati but was scratched and later placed on the paternity leave list. Patrick Corbin drew the start in his place and picked up his seventh win of the season. Jake Lamb broke out of a 3-for-20 dry spell by slugging two homers and plating six of the Diamondbacks’ 12 runs in the victory … J.D. Martinez was not in the Diamondbacks’ lineup on Thursday. Martinez, who was traded from Detroit earlier this week, took a pitch off his left hand Wednesday in his Arizona debut, though luckily his X-rays came back negative.
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