(Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
It hasn’t been a pretty start for the St. Louis Cardinals, who dropped to 3-7 on the season after their loss to the Colorado Rockies on Monday.
Once again, their starting pitcher failed to turn in a quality start, leaving Jordan Montgomery as the lone pitcher to have accomplished that feat.
Steven Matz pitched into the sixth inning, but allowed five runs and was chased early.
Many fans will say that they saw it coming from a mile away, but it’s their starting pitching that has proven to be their Achilles heel.
On Twitter, Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch pointed out a troubling statistic, that the Cardinals have the second-worst starting rotation ERA in the National League at 5.96, and is also last in quality starts, opponent average, and WHIP.
5 National League rotations have 5+ ERAs 10+ games into this season . . .
Diamondbacks: 5.14
Rockies: 5.30
Nationals: 5.56#STLCards: 5.96
Pirates: 6.52
Cards rotation is last in NL in quality starts (1), opponent average (.312), and WHIP (1.71).
Has to get better. And fast.
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) April 11, 2023
Of course, there were plenty of opportunities for the Cardinals to combat this issue.
With uncertainty surrounding pitchers such as Matz and Jack Flaherty and the injury to Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals have found themselves in a perilous position.
Starters such as Carlos Rodon, Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, Nathan Eovaldi, and Tyler Anderson were all available in free agency.
However, the Cardinals did not budge, instead opting to sign Andrew Suarez to a minor league deal after two seasons pitching in Korea and Japan.
The left-hander did not make the Opening Day roster.
The offense is also struggling to score runs, as the timely hits have simply eluded them.
The talent on the roster is undeniable, and one would think it’s only a matter of time before the Cards find their identity.
But they now have the worst record in the National League, and the clock is ticking for them to pull themselves together.
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