Cardinals in tailspin with Reds coming to town

When the Cardinals shut up Brandon Phillips(notes) and shut down the Reds in early August, the teams were expected to head in opposite directions.
But not like this.
The Cardinals were supposed to use the momentum from that nfl throwback jerseys
three-game sweep to run away from the Reds. Instead, they have dropped in the standings faster than an Aroldis Chapman(notes) fastball zooms to the plate.

St. Louis has dropped 13 of 18 games while Cincinnati has gone 14-4. Instead of leading the NL Central by one game—as they did following the sweep at Great American Ball Park—the Cardinals trail the Reds by eight games. See you later, indeed.
The Reds visit St. Louis on Friday primed to squash what little life is remaining in the Cardinals' hopes. At 78-55, the Reds already have equaled their win total from last season, and they are tied with the Braves for the best record in the NL. The Cardinals can take no comfort in how they finish, either. They haven't closed a regular season with a winning September/October since 2005.
Manager Tony La Russa said the collapse has been a total team effort. A look at three shortcomings:
The offense
The Cardinals have been limited to three runs or fewer in 10 games since leaving Cincinnati. Even Albert Pujols(notes) has been slowed, going hitless in Houston as St. Louis totaled two runs in its three losses.
At least Pujols was hitting until Houston. Pujols and Matt Holliday(notes), in fact, have been most of the offense during the downturn. The two have accounted for 31 percent of the team's scoring and more than half of its home runs over the past 18 games.
During the stretch: Felipe Lopez(notes) has hit .133 while still seeing plenty of Eagles jersey
time as the leadoff hitter; Brendan Ryan's(notes) season-long comeuppance has continued with a .204 average; and rookie Jon Jay(notes), once counted on as an everyday player, has cooled off with a .235 average.
The pitching
Adam Wainwright(notes) picked a poor time to stumble. After he moved into the forefront of Cy Young contention, he lost his next three starts and posted a 5.21 ERA. At least he had plenty of room to fall.
Kyle Lohse(notes) hit the skids early this season and has not improved after returning from the disabled list. He has been knocked around for 17 runs in 13 1/3 innings in his past three starts.
Even Chris Carpenter(notes) has had trouble holding a lead, perhaps because he has become unaccustomed to pitching with one.
During the club's downfall, only rookie Jaime Garcia(notes) has avoided a slump. The lefthander is 2-0 and hasn't allowed an earned run in his past three starts. Too bad the club likely will have to limit Garcia's workload in September.
The moves
The Cardinals traded outfielder Ryan Ludwick(notes) because they felt they needed another starter. But they have missed Ludwick more than they have benefited from acquiring Jake Westbrook(notes).
When Ludwick was moved to San Diego, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak pointed out, "Our offense was inconsistent with him. Will it be inconsistent without him? I don't know."
Mozeliak now knows that it will, and the acquisition of third baseman Pedro Feliz(notes) hasn't done much to help the scoring, either.
Westbrook, ironically, has been perhaps the No. 1 victim of Raiders jersey
his new team's inconsistent offense. Five of his six starts since his trade to St. Louis have been quality starts, but he has only one win.
Ludwick hasn't exactly put the Padres' offense on his shoulders, but he has added a presence to the lineup and clubhouse. And while his new team has lost seven consecutive games, at least it still is in first place.
"We're happy to have him here," says Padres outfielder Will Venable(notes). "My guess is him leaving has something to do with what's going on over there."