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Roundtable Sports' John Denton breaks down the Cardinals 4-0 loss to the Marlins -- a game where they mustered just three hits and got only two runners to second base.
Lost in the furor of a stretch where the Cardinals had seen their starting staff's ERA swell to 7.24 over the previous seven games has been a downturn from an offense that was missing in action again on Friday night.
The Cardinals had little to no luck against Miami’s Max Meyer, and there’s certainly no shame in that with how he has dominated the big leagues with a 9-0 record and a 2.60 ERA in 2026. Still, the Cardinals mustered just three hits, got only two runners to third base and were blanked in a 4-0 loss to the Marlins at soggy Busch Stadium.
No inning magnified the offensive struggles more than the seventh inning when the Cards loaded the bases with a hit by pitch and walks sandwiching an infield ground out. Masyn Winn was unable to hit the fly ball needed by grounding meekly to shortstop. Nathan Church then lined out to end the threat.
Over their last four games, the Cardinals have scored just 10 runs and have just 21 hits. The Cards had just one hit through the first four innings, and their second hit of the night came on a Lars Nootbaar bunt.
"(Meyer) was ripping sweepers and he's given everybody trouble this year," manager Oliver Marmol told reporters. "He's had a really nice year and he understands the opposition. He pitched us tough with a lot of off-speed stuff and secondary stuff in hitter's counts, which we knew going in, but we still had trouble combating it."
Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy had a somewhat rocky first inning when he allowed two to reach, but he was otherwise dominant over his six innings of work. McGreevy scattered five hits – all of them singles – in delivering a strong bounce-back outing from a rocky effort in Kansas City last weekend. McGreevy retired eight of the last nine he faced, and he picked Esteury Ruiz off first after he had opened the fifth inning with a single to left field.
"A lot of good signs for moving forward, and I'm glad I was able to bounce back from the KC outing," McGreevy said. "So, onto the next one."
McGreevy was saddled with a no-decision because he got no runs of support against Marlins’ star right-hander Max Meyer. It was the seventh time this season that the Cardinals scored two or fewer runs in a McGreevy start.
The Cardinals had a golden opportunity to grab control of the game in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases with one out. Winn worked the count to 3-0 and appeared set to walk and push home the go-ahead run, but the Marlins successfully challenged the pitch. Winn eventually grounded into a force at home and Church lined out to left field.
June Swoon Clouds Matthew Liberatore's Future in Cards Starting Rotation
The Marlins broke the scoreless tie in the eighth inning when Ruiz reached on a single and stole second base. It was the 45th consecutive successful steal against Cardinals’ catcher Ivan Herrera, who hasn’t thrown out a runner since Sept. 1, 2024, when Juan Soto was still a member of the Yankees. From there, No. 9 hitter, Graham Pauley lined a double just inside the first base line to plate Ruiz before rain temporarily halted the game for 27 minutes.
George Soriano, one of the Cardfinals' most consistent relievers all season, surrendered two hits, two earned runs and two walks in the eighth inning. The Cardinals nearly turned an inning-ending double play when Alec Burleson fielded a grounder, stepped on first and threw home to Herrera. However, the out call was overturned by replay when Herrera's tag arrived late.
Jakob Marsee singled in two runs in the ninth inning -- both of them reaching when rookie reliever Max Rajcic issued free passes.
Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
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Lost in the furor of a stretch where the Cardinals had seen their starting staff's ERA swell to 7.24 over the previous seven games has been a downturn from an offense that was missing in action again on Friday night.
The Cardinals had little to no luck against Miami’s Max Meyer, and there’s certainly no shame in that with how he has dominated the big leagues with a 9-0 record and a 2.60 ERA in 2026. Still, the Cardinals mustered just three hits, got only two runners to third base and were blanked in a 4-0 loss to the Marlins at soggy Busch Stadium.
No inning magnified the offensive struggles more than the seventh inning when the Cards loaded the bases with a hit by pitch and walks sandwiching an infield ground out. Masyn Winn was unable to hit the fly ball needed by grounding meekly to shortstop. Nathan Church then lined out to end the threat.
Over their last four games, the Cardinals have scored just 10 runs and have just 21 hits. The Cards had just one hit through the first four innings, and their second hit of the night came on a Lars Nootbaar bunt.
"(Meyer) was ripping sweepers and he's given everybody trouble this year," manager Oliver Marmol told reporters. "He's had a really nice year and he understands the opposition. He pitched us tough with a lot of off-speed stuff and secondary stuff in hitter's counts, which we knew going in, but we still had trouble combating it."
Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy had a somewhat rocky first inning when he allowed two to reach, but he was otherwise dominant over his six innings of work. McGreevy scattered five hits – all of them singles – in delivering a strong bounce-back outing from a rocky effort in Kansas City last weekend. McGreevy retired eight of the last nine he faced, and he picked Esteury Ruiz off first after he had opened the fifth inning with a single to left field.
"A lot of good signs for moving forward, and I'm glad I was able to bounce back from the KC outing," McGreevy said. "So, onto the next one."
McGreevy was saddled with a no-decision because he got no runs of support against Marlins’ star right-hander Max Meyer. It was the seventh time this season that the Cardinals scored two or fewer runs in a McGreevy start.
Seventh inning failure proved costly
The Cardinals had a golden opportunity to grab control of the game in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases with one out. Winn worked the count to 3-0 and appeared set to walk and push home the go-ahead run, but the Marlins successfully challenged the pitch. Winn eventually grounded into a force at home and Church lined out to left field.
June Swoon Clouds Matthew Liberatore's Future in Cards Starting Rotation
The Marlins broke the scoreless tie in the eighth inning when Ruiz reached on a single and stole second base. It was the 45th consecutive successful steal against Cardinals’ catcher Ivan Herrera, who hasn’t thrown out a runner since Sept. 1, 2024, when Juan Soto was still a member of the Yankees. From there, No. 9 hitter, Graham Pauley lined a double just inside the first base line to plate Ruiz before rain temporarily halted the game for 27 minutes.
George Soriano, one of the Cardfinals' most consistent relievers all season, surrendered two hits, two earned runs and two walks in the eighth inning. The Cardinals nearly turned an inning-ending double play when Alec Burleson fielded a grounder, stepped on first and threw home to Herrera. However, the out call was overturned by replay when Herrera's tag arrived late.
Jakob Marsee singled in two runs in the ninth inning -- both of them reaching when rookie reliever Max Rajcic issued free passes.
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Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
