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But in their first week of action against teams outside the National League Central Division, the Cardinals might have received the wakeup call they needed.
The Cardinals built a nice lead in the Central Division and appear to be one of the better teams in the National League. But they did so mostly against weaker competition, ending a streak of 25 consecutive games against losing teams Friday night.
In their first action against a winning club, the Braves stuck it to them. After losing the series opener in 12 innings Friday night after missing multiple opportunities in extra innings, the Cardinals lost 7-2 on Saturday and 7-4 on Sunday.
They played better baseball than us, said outfielder Carlos Beltran. They pitched better, they played better defense, they were able to come through when the team needed them and we werent able to do that. We have to turn the page and approach the next series and try to win it.
Aside from a season-opening game against the Miami Marlins, the Cardinals hadnt played a series against a team outside the Central Division until this week.
And this weekends series against the Atlanta Braves was the Cardinals first against a team with a winning record since they played the Reds (2-1) team the first week of the season.
Facing a lineup arguably as good as theirs, Cardinals pitchers gave up 23 runs in the three games against Atlanta and none of the three starters finished seven innings.
After feasting on the lowly NL Central for much of the season, the Cardinals found out that life outside the division may not be quite as easy.
Obviously its not good, said first baseman Lance Berkman. We dont want to let any team come in here and sweep us, but were in pretty good shape. We just have to play better baseball.
The Cardinals welcome the Chicago Cubs to Busch Stadium for a quick two-game series beginning Monday night. Then its off to San Francisco and Los Angeles for a five-game road trip.
After playing just four of their first 34 games against winning ballclubs, things will begin to get much tougher for the Cardinals They have four series against winning clubs in the next month, including a stretch of three out of four in late May and early June.
The Cardinals did a good job taking advantage of a favorable schedule to start the year. But as the schedule turns tougher, we might soon get a better idea of just how good the reigning World Champs are.
Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/cardinals_get_reality_check_from_braves/10787720
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