The matches between the St. Louis Cardinals against the Cincinnati Reds saw two consecutive losses for the former despite emerging victorious in the opener, 4 - 1. The Cardinals since then had been shut out in the next games with scores, 4 - 0 and 1 - 0.
Needless to say, the Cardinals are heading to the fourth game against the Reds on Friday (August 7) with more pressure than ever as the match will prove to be crucial to their league standing. As for the Reds, the upcoming match could be a record setting opportunity as the Cardinals have never experienced three consecutive shutout losses to the same opposing team since 1995 when the St. Louis team played against the Miami Marlins - with the first one happening way back in 1950.
One of the biggest problems for the Cardinals at the moment is Anthony DeSclafani. The pitcher has been performing quite notably in the past games, leading the Reds to victory every time he goes to the mound. In fact, DeSclafani's formidable presence has been recognized by the Cardinals themselves as Matt Carpenter reveals that the St. Louis team is busy finding ways to topple the strategy of the Reds.
"We talked collectively as a group to try to figure out another game plan because it didn't really go well over there," shared Carpenter, referring to the Cardinals' effort to diminish the winning power of the Reds courtesy of DeSclafani, according to MLB News. The third baseman added, "We made some adjustments and talked about some things we wanted to do, but he pitched well. Some of the things we weren't able to execute. And some of the things were also a matter of him executing what he was trying to do." With the recent injury incurred by Cardinals left fielder Matt Holiday, the Cardinals is leaning heavily on the ability of Carpenter to carry the team. Hopefully, John Lackey can also step up and match the skills previously exhibited by DeSclafani in the next match.
As for DeSclafani, the pitcher admitted that he located better in the second game against the Cardinals and had the opposing team "guessing a little bit more." He was also particularly proud of the backdoor sliders he managed to throw in along with his sliders that earned two strikes, citing such moves as the possible "difference" shown in his recent performance. Apart from DeSclafani, the Reds also have David Holmberg holding down the Cardinals.
The third game is scheduled on Thursday, August 6, at 9:35 am in the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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