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St. Louis Cardinals lineup

The St. Louis Cardinals Power Outage

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The reason St. Louis is not in first place right now, and the reason they’re stuck in the middle of a logjam of teams, is that there’s been a serious power outage in the lineup. The Cardinals rank 13th in the National League in runs scored. It’s not because they can’t fill the basepaths—the team is 5th in on-base percentage. But cashing in has been another story. St. Louis is 12th among NL teams in slugging percentage, mainly because they are the worst National League team at hitting home runs.

NL Central Report: St. Louis’ Offensive Machine Keeps Churning

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It’s no secret that the St. Louis Cardinals are struggling. They’ve got injuries and the pitching that is healthy just isn’t very good, either in the rotation or the bullpen. Since the middle of May they’ve been plummeting in the standings, now in third place in the NL Central, trailing both the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates. But they got a couple wins over Houston the last two nights to get back over .500 at 30-28, they’ll start getting players returning from the disabled list in the next couple weeks and possibly more after the All-Star break. And this offense has been absolutely fearsome, even when not entirely whole.

NL Central Report: Pittsburgh’s Opportunity To Make A Move Is Now

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If you’re looking for a team to break out of the NL Central muddle that’s piled up behind frontrunning St. Louis, the Pittsburgh Pirates would be a team to keep on your radar over the next couple weeks. The Pirates’ record of 10-14 is certainly nothing special, but there’s an intriguing nuance in that record—Pittsburgh has played six series against teams other than St. Louis. They’ve got a 3-2-1 record in those series. It’s nothing that suggests a burgeoning powerhouse, ready to shoot up the ladder to second place, but it does suggest that Clint Hurdle’s team might make some hay when they begin a nine-game homestand against Cincinnati, Washington and Houston on Friday.

NL Central Report: Can Anything Slow Down St. Louis?

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The St. Louis Cardinals’ offseason personnel turnover has been well-documented, from Albert Pujols to Tony LaRussa. Now let’s add to that, a trip to the disabled list for Chris Carpenter, a terrible start for Adam Wainwright, who’s got a 9.88 ERA in his first three starts and a sub-.200 batting average from Matt Holliday entering Monday’s games. What does that all add up to? In St. Louis it adds up to…well, first place in the National League Central with an 11-5 record.