Prior to the All-Star break, I really didn’t expect I would be talking about a Royals seven-game winning streak and a Cardinals six-game losing streak, but that’s where we are at on the final day of July.
I’m not concerned by the Cardinals’ lack of production. As hot hitting as the team has been, I expected some cooling off. Â They’ll come back around. However, the injury to Yadier Molina concerns me if this turns into a layoff longer than two weeks.
I’m also concerned with how the Pirates have come into this five game series and have treated it like a playoff series. Perhaps more is on the line for the Pirates, who need to make a statement. The Cardinals seem to be playing this out like just another series in late July, when they should be trying to show Pittsburgh who is running this division.
As bad as the first three games have been, Adam Wainwright can turn things around tonight and if the Cardinals take the last two games of this series, they still leave the Steel City in first place. Â One thing is for sure, the Pirates plan on sticking around the rest of the summer.
