CHICAGO -- Opening the season's second half with an exercise in endurance, the Cardinals completed a grueling four-day stay in Chicago still in search of reliable relief.
For all the fun the Cardinals had sharing salsa and watching Matt Carpenter make history, their final game of the weekend at Wrigley Field ended in a 7-2 loss that forced a reality check. The Cardinals are leaving town further back of the Cubs than they were before playing five games in a 72-hour span. That deficit sits at a season-high 8 1/2 games.
Creeping closer will require the stabilization of the bullpen, which is as wobbly now as it's been all season.