Despite Loss, Reds Still in Firm Control

Don't read too much into this.

St. Louis won two out of three this weekend against Cincinnati, beating the Reds 3-2 on Friday, and 4-2 on Sunday. The Reds won 6-1 on Saturday. Jaime Garcia looked good again, while the Cards jumped early on Bronson Arroyo Friday. Cincy missed some opportunities to score, and the game got away. They beat up Adam Wainwright on Saturday, and Travis Wood looked excellent. For awhile on Sunday, it looked like Homer Bailey had Chris Carpenter beat, until Matt Holliday took him deep for a three run shot in the 6th.

This series had been billed as a big deal up until about a week ago, when the Reds began to pull away. St. Louis HAD to win this series. Cincinnati just had to show up. Most likely, if the Cardinals wanted any chance to win the division, they had to sweep the Reds. They didn't. The lead is still seven, which is nearly insurmountable at this point, barring a long losing streak from Cincinnati, and a long winning streak from St. Louis. Both of those propositions look like long shots at this point, though.

Despite winning the series, the Cardinals still look like a dying team. There wasn't a lot of excitement or offense. Wainwright looks tired, and Chris Carpenter looked hittable early on. Albert Pujols appears mortal at this point, exhausted from carrying the team on his back the whole year. Even the fans seemed to be more concerned with booing Brandon Phillips every at bat than what the team was doing on the field.

Now, the Reds head out West to Colorado. It won't be an easy series, but I expect the Reds to regroup and at least split the series. St. Louis also heads back out on the road, and will play their last 28 games without a day off.

If you want to be concerned about anything, be worried about the fact the Reds still struggle with aces, and beating winning teams. That doesn't bode well for the playoffs. But we'll worry about that when we get there.

For now, it's back to the grindstone. And winning series. That's what this team does best. It's why they'll win the Central.