SPORTZONE27

The St. Louis Cardinals suffered what could be their worst loss of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays.

After being stalled by Jose Berrios and Toronto’s pitching for much of the game, Willson Contreras and Ivan Herrera gave the Cardinals the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning with an RBI single and a three-run home run.

Ryan Helsley entered the game with a 4-3 advantage in the eighth inning. The script was written.

However, Helsley failed to perform the save, giving up a lone shot to Jonatan Clase for his fifth blown save of the season. The Cardinals ultimately lost the game 5-4 in extra innings.

Following such a catastrophic loss, the roster needed to be shaken up, and Oliver Marmol has done exactly that.

Oliver Marmol shuffles up the St. Louis Cardinals roster in a major way, hoping to spark some offensive output.

For starters, Lars Nootbaar has the night off. Masyn Winn will take over as leadoff hitter. Nootbaar has been the team’s leadoff hitter in all of his starts this season. He’s appeared in 64 games this season. Noot got off to a strong start this year, batting.263/.400/.439 with more walks than strikeouts in April and March. Since then, Nootbaar’s line has slumped to.237/.341/.379, with his strikeout and walk percentages reversed.

Over the last 28 days, Nootbaar has slashed.215/.286/.312, striking out 34% of the time. That won’t suffice for a leadoff batter. A day off (and even a move down the lineup when he returns) could benefit the left-handed hitter.

Nolan Gorman makes his second consecutive start, batting seventh and playing second base. Gorman hasn’t gotten much playing time lately, despite the fact that outfielder Jordan Walker is injured. It’s critical that he starts getting more plate appearances to prove his worth.

It’s critical that the Cardinals win tonight to salvage a nine-game homestand before traveling to face the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend. If the Cardinals lose tonight against the Blue Jays, they will have a losing record during this homestand at the outset of a brutal June.