By Joe Strauss, St. Louis Post-Dispatch –
MILWAUKEE — Once again a team that thought itself on the verge of making a run instead spent Tuesday night tripping over opportunities and feeding an opponent’s momentum.
The Cardinals don’t carry the look of a bad team. They do bear striking resemblance to an inefficient one.
(PHOTO: Milwaukee Brewers’ Norichika Aoki hits a single in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tuesday, July 17, 2012.)
Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park furthered the impression. Able to muster 10 hits, the Cardinals scored twice in the same inning. They allowed the Brewers a 1-0 lead following an unturned double play and a 2-2 tie after their starting pitcher’s errant pick-off attempt. Second baseman Rickie Weeks provided the game winning RBI with a fourth-inning home run off rookie Joe Kelly (1-2).
Unofficially, the game was lost both before and after Weeks’ big swing.
“How many hits did we have? Ten? How many runs did we score?” first baseman Allen Craig asked and answered. “That pretty much tells the story.”
The Cardinals currently are missing fewer players than they are pieces to their game. A two-for-10 night with runners in scoring position allowed Brewers starting pitcher Randy Wolf to earn his first win since April 30. Breakout possibilities fizzled in the seventh and ninth innings.
“We have a lot of good players. We have a good team,” shortstop and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal said. “We need to step up a little bit. We need to play a little bit.”
The seventh-inning tease included pinch hitter Lance Berkman’s ejection following an extended back-and-forth with plate umpire Brian Gorman.
The game ended when the Cardinals put runners at first and third with none out and failed to score against closer Francisco Rodriguez. Matt Carpenter’s ground ball, Skip Schumaker’s strikeout and Daniel Descalso’s pop out threw cold water on the threat. The Cardinals retreated to 47-44 after suggesting the night before that a ninth-inning rally was a sign of good things to come.
“Yes, it’s baseball. Yes, it’s loose play. We’re not playing well,” Berkman said. “If you want to boil it down to its bare essence, when we have the opportunity to drive guys in offensively, especially the last two weeks, we haven’t done it.”
“You can’t keep making it happen in the ninth inning,” said second baseman and outfielder Skip Schumaker. “The opportunities are there early. We just haven’t taken care of them.”
Berkman sat out Tuesday’s start against Wolf largely because he was three for 34 lifetime against him. Yet a none-out situation pulled Berkman to the plate with runners at first and third in the seventh inning.
“One of the reasons I haven’t had numbers against him is he’s really good and it’s not a good match-up for me,’ Berkman said. “But also, when a guy has numbers like that it seems like every close pitch goes his way; if he makes a mistake you foul it off. There’s a lot that goes into that ownership aside from the fact that he’s really good.”
Berkman got ahead of Wolf in the count, 3-1, lost a strike on a borderline call, then fouled two pitches before the lefthander teased him with a breaking pitch that bounced before the plate. Gorman ruled Berkman swung without seeking an appeal from first base umpire Todd Tichenor.
After immediately challenging Gorman, Berkman re-examined the call on a clubhouse big-screen.
Berkman returned to remind Gorman of his finding from the dugout, got ejected, then confronted Gorman a second time. Matheny finally came to the plate to help lead away the first baseman.
“They pride themselves on being able to see everything, but it’s just impossible,” said Berkman, who anticipated walking on the strike two call within the at-bat. “They’re human beings. The action happens too fast. They should be made to appeal that. They should take it out of their hands.”
Added Berkman: “We should have won this game tonight. They didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves.”
The threat evaporated when Furcal popped out to the catcher.
The Cardinals entered Tuesday leading the National League in stranded runners. They have the league’s best team average and the most runs scored. They are also challenged to play an error-free game.
“The offense hasn’t gone. We really haven’t been able to get our stride together,” Schumaker said. “Our pitching has been as good as it gets. We should score more than three runs.”
The Brewers took a 1-0 first-inning lead when their first two hitters reached base, one on a drag bunt at Freese.
With one out third baseman Aramis Ramirez grounded to Freese, who had trouble finding a grip. The lost double play grew in significance when first baseman Corey Hart drilled a single to left-center field, allowing left fielder Norichka Aoki to score.
Berkman’s Vesuvian response to Gorman’s strike zone spoke for an offense that has yet to score more than three runs in five games since the All-Star break.
A prolonged absence from Holliday complicates an offense that is struggling for footing. Outfielders Jon Jay and Carlos Beltran are seeking to re-establish first-half form. Craig interrupted a 1-for-13 funk with singles in his first two at-bats Tuesday. He scored the Cardinals’ second run after his second hit.
Another defensive lapse this one Kelly’s error led to the Brewers’ first lead in the third inning.
Fleet Carlos Gomez’ presence at first base proved distracting enough that Kelly threw a pick-off attempt past Craig at first base, allowing Gomez into scoring position. A ground ball to Kelly advanced the runner to third base. Ramirez’ two-out single scored the run. Kelly got his last nine outs against only nine hitters.
