Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte does Cardinals a solid with lack of hustle on game-ending play

The St. Louis Cardinals haven't had too many things go their way this season. So maybe it was Ketel Marte's good deed for the month to make things easy on them.

The Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman, who had come in as a pinch hitter, essentially handed St. Louis the final out by taking his sweet time jogging to first base. What might have ground out became a double-play because Marte did the opposite of hustle.

This is a clip Marte is going to want to have wiped off the internet...

Facing a 5-1 deficit in the bottom of the ninth, Martel may have been eager to get the series over and move on to Seattle. (Not that he'd ever admit that.)

Ketel Marte's low-effort play won't win him any friends outside St. Louis

Realistically, Marte's lack of effort there probably didn't impact the outcome. That's not really the point though. Players are expected to give their all every game, every inning, every at-bat. It sets a terrible example to the rest of the clubhouse to make that gaff on a game-ending play.

The worst thing is Marte has been on a tear this season, slashing .324/.376/.549 with an OPS+ of 159. Arizona should be able to lean on him as a veteran leader. Instead, he's making plays that make you wonder if he'll need to be benched to send a message.

The Diamondbacks trounced the Cardinals the night before, handing them a 14-1 loss. But that victory was the only one Arizona would pick up in St. Louis. They lost 5-3 on Monday and 5-1 on Wednesday. If MLB series were scored on aggregate the strategy might have been understandable.

Jordan Montgomery got a chance to show the Cardinals what they were missing by not signing him, but his seven innings with two earned runs allowed were wasted by a lack of offensive support. The Diamondbacks left eight runners stranded in scoring positions.

Arizona fell to 12-14 while the Cardinals improved to 11-14. The former sits fourth in the NL West while the latter remained dead last in the NL Central.