The Cardinals’ lineup has produced scads of baserunners and it even boasts the hitter who has the most at-bats with runners in scoring position in the majors. Yet, the Cardinals sag when it comes to slugging in those spots, and on Friday typified their troubles with strikeouts. The Cardinals struck out 11 times in the loss to Atlanta, seven of them looking – and three of them coming in six at-bats with runners in scoring position. Rallies die without contact.
The Cardinals entered Saturday’s game with 409 at-bats with runners in scoring position, the fifth-most in the National League and most in the NL Central.