Injuries are starting to take their toll on the Cardinals lineup.  The same day that the team placed Ryan Ludwick on the disabled list for a strained hamstring, the bats went silent as St. Louis lost to Pittsburgh 5-2.

Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf allowed a solo home run to Skip Schumaker and one other hit in six innings of work while he struck out five and walked one.  Schumaker said that not only was Ohlendorf throwing first strike fastballs, he was also getting his off speed pitches in for strikes as well.

Schumaker’s lead off homer in the 4th tied the game at one, but Pittsburgh came right back against Joel Pineiro with a run of their own in the bottom half to go up 2-1. In the sixth, the Pirates had a run in with runners on second and third with tow outs, when Nyjer Morgan singled in two runs to open the lead to 5-1.  Morgan is 11 of 32 with 9 RBIs this season against the Cardinals.

The Cardinals have struggled at the plate and will now need to rely on young players to get the job down with Rick Ankiel and Ludwick on the DL.  I’m interested to see how this affects Albert Pujols.  Will teams walk him more now without the threat of Ludwick behind him?