0-for-17 With RISP? Man, Cardinals Fans Need to Hear Marmol's Wild 'Best Shot' Claim

Okay, seriously, if you're a Cardinals fan right now, you gotta be ripping your hair out. St. Louis just stumbled out of a nightmare gauntlet through the NL Central, and the numbers are ugly. After getting straight up *swept* 13-2 by the division-leading Brewers, their manager Oliver Marmol is out here saying they'll "give their best shot" against the Cubs tonight. A "best shot" after *that*? Come on.

This Batting Collapse Is So Much Worse Than You Think

Let's talk about what "their best shot" looked like against Milwaukee. It was brutal. The Cardinals batted a pathetic .177, going 17-for-96 in that three-game sweep. They were a soul-crushing 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position. That’s how you get outscored 13-2 and tie a season-high four-game losing skid. Before the Brewers, they lost two of three to the Pirates and split a weather-shortened series with the Reds. This team is reeling. Marmol says his young club won't be "sulking and giving away games," but you gotta wonder what else they have left to give. On the bright side, Jordan Walker is still out there fighting, racking up two hits and scoring their only run in Wednesday's 2-1 loss. He’s been a beast lately, hitting 8-for-24 with two homers, eight RBIs, and four runs in his last six games. We love seeing a young guy step up.

Pitching Pains and a Cubbies Comeback

Now, for the arms. Cardinals right-hander Andre Pallante (5-4, 3.76 ERA) takes the mound. He had a solid outing last Saturday, holding Cincinnati to one run on two hits with three strikeouts over six innings in an 8-1 road win. But here’s the kicker: he's 4-4 over his last eight starts, alternating wins and losses. His last loss, a 2-0 defeat to Kansas City on May 17, was one of his best this season, going 6 2/3 innings with just one earned run and seven strikeouts. Still, history isn't on his side against the Cubs, where he's 0-4 with a 4.40 ERA in 12 career games. He better watch out for Ian Happ, who just went off for a two-run homer and three hits in Chicago's 7-2 win over Pittsburgh Thursday. Happ is red-hot, 5-for-11 with two homers and seven RBIs in his last two games. The Cubs, by the way, just won both those games, a huge turnaround after losing a season-high *ten* in a row! Across the diamond, Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga (4-5, 4.04) is trying to snap a three-game skid. This guy has been absolutely shelled in his last two outings, giving up a staggering 15 runs on 16 hits, including five homers, in just 10 1/3 innings. After getting taken deep three times in an 8-5 loss to the Astros, he admitted his splitter was staying up in the zone. You gotta fix that, dude! Still, he’s 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in four career starts against St. Louis. So, what's gonna happen tonight when the Cardinals host the Cubs? St. Louis desperately needs to break this four-game skid, but Chicago is riding high after breaking their own long losing streak. Can Pallante break his Cubs curse, or will Imanaga finally figure out that splitter and snap his personal skid? This is gonna be a fascinating series to watch. You know we'll be tuning in to see if Marmol's "best shot" claim holds any water.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.