3 Cardinals most to blame for losing critical weekend set to the Cubs

Heading into a critical weekend set with the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals lost three out of four at the Federal landmark, prompting Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas to try and call out his team in postgame comments after the series loss.

The Cardinals now sit 3.0 games back in the Wild Card race and face a tough schedule coming up. A few players underperformed in this series, and we'll highlight the three that were the most to blame in the weekend series.

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3. Miles Mikolas

Rightfully, Mikolas was frustrated after allowing four earned runs and lasting just four innings against the Cubs Sunday night. In many ways, he was the catalyst that prevented his team from splitting the series at Wrigley. Given that the Cardinals traveled back home to St. Louis after the game and immediately will start another series with the New York Mets tonight, the last thing Cardinals skipper Oli Marmol wanted was to dip into his bullpen by the 5th inning last night.

Miles now owns a 5.12 ERA on the season, including a 6.16 ERA since June 27. Truth be told, he is one of the main reasons the Cardinals aren't higher up in the standings, let alone being a reason to blame for last night's outing. He is currently experiencing his worst season since 2014 and his second in a year, well below the league average. The Cardinals need him to bounce back in a major way after last night's showing.

2. Willson Contreras

It's no secret Willson Contreras cannot call a good game behind the mound occasionally. That being said, he's not on this list for his catching but for his lack of hitting in this series. Contreras is a former Cub that has played countless games at Wrigley; in this four-game set, Contreras went 2-14, good for just a .133 average, with zero home runs or RBIs recorded. Although he's been a solid bat in St. Louis' order throughout the season, this was one series that the Cardinals could have used some of his offensive prowess.

You just wanted to see more hunger from Contreras against his former team that refused to negotiate contract extensions with him two years ago, ultimately prompting him to join the Cubs' division rival. He is one of the main bats in the heart of the order that St. Louis will continue to lean on during this upcoming stretch of games against teams with a record of better than .500.

1. Erick Fedde

Erick Fedde was brought in to stabilize the Cardinals' rotation at the trade deadline and push for a postseason spot. He missed the mark in game two of the weekend set with the Cubs, allowing five earned in five innings, scattering six hits over his 97 pitches. It was a lackluster performance in his Cardinals debut, who was not in sync with Contreras behind the dish.

Fedde was among the bigger-named starting pitchers traded at the deadline in a three-team swap with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. The Cardinals now own a 4.44 ERA amongst their group of starting pitchers; the 12th worst in the National League. That cannot continue if the Cardinals are to reach the postseason this year. Bringing in Fedde at the deadline was supposed to help St. Louis stabilize its rotation, and in his first game, it did the complete opposite. We'll see if he continues his excellent season, his expected stats suggest to could regress to about the 55th percentile in ERA.