ANAHEIM, Calif. — For a seven-game trip that took them from Dairyland to Disneyland, the Cardinals sure went some places, from the lowest point of the season thus far in Milwaukee to new heights for the lineup at Angel Stadium.
The longest losing streak of the season ended on the same trip that contained the longest winning streak. Their sightseeing spotted encouraging trends for the offense, familiar detours in Wisconsin and even a gracious host in California willing to run out for anything on a whim.
The Cardinals logged a lot of air miles to not budge at all in the standings.
And yet as they circle back home for a defining stretch at Busch Stadium, they insist they’re not in the same place.
“Road trip started in a bad way,†manager Oliver Marmol said late Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. “Look at how those first games (went), especially that second game in Milwaukee. They weren’t good at all. The third game, I actually felt like we got beat. We didn’t beat ourselves. And that was the turning point for how the rest of the series went in Milwaukee and how the first two games went here. Feel good going back home. Really do.
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“We’re in a much better spot,†he added. “All areas of the game look like they’re supposed to right now. The offense is starting to click. And that’s what we’ve been missing. It feels right.â€
It could have ended better.
A couple of fluke bounces mixed with a wild pitch and a throwing error escorted the Angels to a four-run first inning against starter Lance Lynn on Wednesday in the series finale. The Cardinals never threatened that lead and missed a chance to sweep with a 7-2 loss. The few openings they had to create concern for the Angels fizzled in a situation that still vexes the Cardinals — with runners in scoring position. The Cardinals went 1 for 10 Wednesday with runners in scoring position and went 11 for 73 on the road trip. In their final 66 plate appearances in the visit to Anaheim, the Cardinals had one hit with a runner in scoring position.
The futility on the road trip with a runner on second, third or both bases dropped their overall average with runners in scoring position to .191, the lowest in the majors. Only the Blue Jays, at .287, and the Cardinals, at .296, are slugging lower than .300 in those prime opportunities to inflate innings and twist them into crooked numbers.
“I felt like we could have created more opportunities,†Marmol said.
Still, they departed Anaheim for a red-eye charter flight back to ºüÀêÊÓƵ late Wednesday with a far different feel than the first two days on the trip.
The baggage of a losing streak that started at home overstuffed to seven games in Milwaukee, where they were outscored 18-3 in the first two days of their visit. The McAllisters have better starts to road trips. They only lose Kevin.
The Cardinals salvaged a win against the Brewers and sprang some traps the Angels stumbled into. For the first time, the offense carried a couple of wins. So can they keep the change?
“I would say the biggest takeaway from that series is that the belief in our guys and being able to actually accomplish what we set out to do in spring training,†Marmol said. “I’ve never sensed this amount of confidence and determination to follow through on that. Most people will sit there and go, ‘How? It’s doomsday.’ And that clubhouse has the complete opposite mentality. Did it suck losing the first (three)? Absolutely. (Ticked) everybody off. But mentality-wise, the biggest takeaway was the group’s determination to do exactly what we set out to do initially. Probably the strongest sense of that all year was while we were in Milwaukee after losing three in a row.â€
That was about the time that Lynn suggested his teammates needed to relax. He said that publicly. Other messages rippled through the clubhouse privately from veteran players.
A season on the brink didn’t leave that precipice but found a foothold. The Cardinals claimed a comeback win Sunday, another comeback victory Monday in Anaheim and a win Tuesday that required the offense to start early and score late, too. The Cardinals erased deficits of three runs and four runs on consecutive days and then, on the third day, when they misplaced a five-run lead, had the horsepower to avoid losing the game, too.
Through the seven games of the road trip, the Cardinals averaged 4.1 runs per game. They hit .261 as a team with a .381 slugging percentage. They had hit just .218 in the previous 36 games, .209 in the previous 17 and slugged just .324.
“We went through something early that you don’t want to see, and if you do see it, you only want to see it happen later after you’ve gotten the course of the season and if you fall into something it doesn’t look as bad,†hitting coach Turner Ward said. “It doesn’t feel as bad. You feel now like you’re fighting to get to the numbers at the end of the season when you can’t make that happen. This AB, this pitch, this moment — you cannot get back in one of them where you’ll be at the end of the season. It has to be over time.â€
Within the weeklong trip, Paul Goldschmidt hit two home runs, including a solo shot for the Cardinals’ first run Wednesday. Alec Burleson had a powerful finish to the trip with five hits in the final two games and a push for regular playing time. Matt Carpenter returned from the injured list and, in a throwback move, took over at leadoff just as the offense stirred.
The lineup is in a different place than when it left home.
But it still has at least one of the same stowaway habits.
The Cardinals went 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position in Tuesday’s 7-6 victory. Only one of those hits produced an RBI, and it was a pivotal one — Pedro Pages’ bases-clearing double. The thrust of the Cardinals’ go-ahead offense came later on a two-run homer by Burleson after Nolan Arenado grinded through an at-bat for a leadoff single. The Cardinals had only one hit with a runner in scoring position in the final 15 innings of the series in Anaheim. That lack of timely hitting is what allowed the four runs off Lynn (1-2) in the first inning to decide the game early.
The Cardinals left at least one runner in scoring position in five innings.
That next sign of the offense’s revival is in those moments.
With an off-day on Thursday, the Cardinals return from their two-city, two-time-zone tour that took them from Milwaukee to Mickey, from two curdling losses to an animated offense, from the nausea they felt near Bernie Brewer’s wild slide to the opportunities they took thanks to the Angels’ grisly run on the bases. Next up: Tomorrowland.
The Cardinals’ longest homestand of the season begins with visits from three winning teams — Boston, Baltimore and the rivals Cubs. The American League clubs are a combined 24-14 on the road.
This is the Cardinals’ chance to move without leaving home.
“We’re not in a bad spot,†Lynn said. “Winning is always fun. That’s the truth. Before that it was pretty (cruddy). So it’s easy to say, ‘Hey, we had more wins because we won a couple of games in a row.’ We’re going to be alright.â€