The St. Louis Cardinals' 6-0 series-opening defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers marked their fifth straight loss. Ace Sonny Gray taking the mound for the Redbirds was supposed to stop the bleeding, though even he couldn't keep this sinking ship afloat.
Things were going relatively smoothly for Gray through four innings, only allowing three hits and one run. However, the fifth was a completely different story, and it all came crashing down — hard. But even before then, the right-hander knew he didn't have his stuff, acknowledging as much after the game.
Gray sounded utterly dejected. The vibes in St. Louis aren't great right now, to put it mildly. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol ostensibly can't rally his clubhouse to dig deep and persevere at the moment after recently silencing some of his doubters.
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Sonny Gray says the quiet part out loud about Oli Marmol amid Cardinals slump
"I don’t know, I don’t know," Gray stated (h/t John Denton of MLB.com). "It wasn’t good, I wasn’t good, we weren’t good and we’re not playing good. Just nothing good."
Considering how hard Gray is beating himself up over his outing and St. Louis' current state, now feels like Marmol's time to instill confidence. It was undeniably a rough day at the office for the three-time All-Star, but all hope shouldn't be lost, at least to this degree. The Cards remain above .500 and in reach of a Wild Card spot, suggesting the real issues lie beneath the surface.
Marmol is struggling to motivate the Cardinals to make a sandwich, let alone get back on track, if Gray's comments are any indication. For whatever reason(s), the skipper's message seemingly isn't getting through to the group, and it's affecting team morale. Yet, St. Louis' goal of snapping their two-year postseason drought is still in front of them and attainable; how will they respond?
Alarm bells are sounding in St. Louis as Cardinals struggles continue
Cardinals fans and Gray alike feel like the sky is falling in St. Louis, and it's hard to blame them. The Brewers' 3-2 victory the day after rocking Gray marks the squad's sixth consecutive loss. Marmol and Co. are only digging themselves a deeper hole, and it appears to be wearing on everyone involved.
A promising start to the 2025 MLB campaign saw the Cardinals jump out to a 34-27 record. Nonetheless, the latest cold streak is a sign that St. Louis bit off more than they can chew and that their success is merely fool's gold.