WASHINGTON — The trend the Cardinals are trying to stem by trading for at least one reinforcement is the one that continues to tax the bullpen.
As the innings mount for relievers, ruptures happen.
Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson made his return to the rotation but left almost half of the game for the bullpen to hold. The lead the relievers inherited vanished in the flash of Josh Bell’s bat, and the Cardinals’ late rally was not enough to overcome that, losing, 7-6, on Saturday night at Nationals Park. Five of the seven runs Washington scored came against the bullpen, four against lefties Packy Naughton and Genesis Cabrera.