Cardinals Offense Does Not Quit In Opening Series Win Over Rays

The St. Louis Cardinals opened the new season with a series win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite dropping the series finale on Sunday afternoon, the Cardinals' offense shows that it won’t quit putting up 22 runs in the opening series. Even in the opening game of the series with the New York Mets, the Cardinals' offense never felt out of it until the ninth inning. The most disconcerting part of Monday night's contest with the Mets was the strikeout numbers. The Redbirds struck out nine times against New York pitching; meanwhile, they struck out only 16 times over all three games against the Rays.

JJ Wetherholt has reached base in every game to start his young career. The Cardinals' leadoff man is a catalyst in the offense. Wetherholt has been setting up Alec Burleson with opportunities to drive in runs, and the Cardinals' three-hole has racked up five of them in the first four games of the year.

Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman flashed their power on Sunday’s finale against the Rays as both blasted home runs in the contest; meanwhile, Burleson continued his tear at the plate with another multi-hit game on Monday. Gorman and Walker are two of the most important parts of the Cardinals' offense, making strides this season. If the pair of them can stay in rhythm at the plate, this Cardinals offense can be dangerous all season long.

The major red flag out of the opening weekend is the Cardinals' bullpen. Against Tampa Bay, the Redbird relievers threw 13 innings and allowed 16 runs. The Cardinals' bullpen allowed one run on Monday night, but it was not credited to them; it was an inherited runner left by Cardinals starter Kyle Leahy. However, with two outs in the inning, Matt Svanson allowed three consecutive free bases, scoring the Mets' fourth run of the night.

If the Cardinals' offense continues to put them in a position to win, then something will have to change with how the bullpen is utilized. Whether that is personnel changes or role changes in the bullpen, the Cardinals cannot afford to waste games when they score seven runs, as they did on Sunday.

Four games is a small sample size, but the encouraging signs for the offense could mean this squad is not in the infant stages of a rebuild, and they could be further along than expected at the end of the season.