Nolan Areando didn’t beat around the bush after the St. Louis Cardinals lost 3-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, their seventh loss in their last eight contests.
“There’s no excuse,” Arenado said, per The Athletic’s Katie Woo. “This month is a tough month so far. Obviously, no days off makes it even tougher, but there are no excuses — everyone has to go through that. We’re keeping an even-keel mindset, but there’s no doubt that when we play division rivals, we have to win those series.”
After going a Major League-best 19-8 in May, the Cardinals are experiencing the most extreme of June swoons. St. Louis has managed just a 4-10 record in June, and continue to slip further and further in the NL Central as they are tied for third place with the Cincinnati Reds at 37-35, 7.0 games back of the first-place Chicago Cubs and 3.0 games back of the NL’s third Wild Card spot.
Injury luck, lack of off-days, and tough divisional series’ in the month of June have all played a role in their skid. The Cardinals have also had a bit of trouble with their lineup construction. For example, Victor Scott and Lars Nootbaar have been exceptional defensively, but are marred in prolonged slumps at the plate. Additionally, Nolan Gorman has seen his playing time fall off thanks to the rises of Brendan Donovan, and Iván Herrera, leaving manager Oli Marmol with some difficult decisions each day.
“That’s the challenge,” Marmol said. “You have guys that aren’t in good spots who you’re trying to stay away from and get some time off to and then other guys that are in a similar spot, where they’re trying to finish out, but they have to plow through it, especially in a spot like this.”
With the trade deadline looming, the Cardinals are in need of a resurgence sooner rather than later. Otherwise, they risk their season falling completely off the rails after an inspiring start.