Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz has made progress in multiple avenues since the start of the season, including his confidence in his pitches and his ability to pitch out of potentially game-changing situations.
Somehow that still hasn’t translated into the win column. So the incremental improvements will have to remain his focus.
Matz didn’t allow an earned run against a Los Angeles Dodgers lineup that included a pair of former MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman as well as a cleanup hitter in J.D. Martinez with a trio of Silver Slugger Awards on his résumé, yet the Cardinals still came out on the losing end, 5-0, in the second game of the four-game with the Dodgers set at Busch Stadium on Friday night.