The St. Louis Cardinals losing streak, their longest of the season, now stands at five after they lose last night to the San Francisco Giants. Despite pounding out 13 hits, the Redbirds can not score in the clutch and lose 6-3.

The Redbird bats were hot, as 14 men would reach base.  But, 10 of them would be left there, as the Cardinals would go 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

Perhaps the most glowing example of this would come in the bottom of the ninth, as St. Louis had two runners on and Matt Holliday at the plate.  After getting behind in the count, he would ground out to second base to end the game.

New Cardinal Pedro Feliz did have a good debut as he went 2 for 4 and scored twice.  Albert Pujols did hit another home run.  He would knock out his 32nd of the season, this one a solo shot, in the bottom of the eighth inning. 

Jake Westbrook would take the loss for St. Louis.  He did not have an awful game as he would give up three runs on seven hits over his six innings of work.  He also struck out seven.

With the Reds winning again, the Cardinals are now four and a half games out of first place in the National League Central.  They also lost ground in the NL Wild Card race and are now three games behind Philadelphia. 

Game two of the series could be a pitcher’s duel tonight as Chris Carpenter goes for the Cardinals against the Giants Tim Lincecum. 

Game time is 6:15.