3 Obvious Cardinals Weaknesses Heading Into MLB Postseason
By Chris Pyo
The St. Louis Cardinals' magic number for the postseason rests at six games, and it's definitely more likely than not that they'll be making the playoffs this year. With that being said, here are three weaknesses the Cardinals have to deal with going into the MLB postseason.
1. Lack of Offensive Production
The Cardinals currently rank in the bottom half of the league in every single major offensive category, including average, OBP, OPS, hits and runs. If the bats don't heat up come postseason time, the Cardinals will have trouble providing enough run support for their pitchers against the likes of the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers.
.@ScottWuerz hopes the #STLCards offense shows up for the series against the #Nationals. https://t.co/cBu7L8zEUH
— News-Democrat (@bellevillenewsd) September 16, 2019
2. Kolten Wong's Potential Injury
The Cards' lineup funnels through three players: First baseman Paul Goldschmidt, outfielder Marcell Ozuna and second baseman Kolten Wong. Take any one of them out of the lineup and there's a noticeable effect. In this case, Wong recently injured his hamstring, and while he's expected to return to the lineup before the postseason commences, his loss to the Cardinals lineup would be massive.
Kolten Wong will get an MRI tomorrow on his strained left hamstring, which manager Mike Shildt described as "mild," but admitted there are various degrees of mild. Definitely out next couple days, he said.
— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) September 20, 2019
3. Closer Issues
While the Cards' bullpen has been among the best in baseball this year, and Carlos Martinez has done a solid job as its closer, there are still some questions as to how he'll respond to a couple of bad outings, especially one against the Cubs on Sept. 19 when he imploded and gave up three earned runs in a single inning of work. If he carries this into the playoffs, no Cardinals lead will be safe in the ninth.