Two weeks ago, the St. Louis Cardinals were the hottest team in baseball, winning an MLB-high 19 games in May and putting up a .708 winning percentage. This surge put the Cardinals back into contention in the National League Central right behind the rival Chicago Cubs.

Then the calendar turned to June.

The Cardinals June struggle makes their upcoming series a big one

Already outperforming preseason expectations, the Cardinals have started to make their fans believe in their ability to push for the playoffs. May brought more fans back into the ballpark and the online discussions turned from who the Cardinals should trade away to who the Cardinals should trade for. However, those talks have been put to pause as a tough start to June has put the Cardinals in a precarious spot.

A 4-10 start to the month, including losing three out of four games to the Milwaukee Brewers, has all but outdone the Cardinals nine-game winning streak and puts them seven games behind the division-leading Cubs. What is frustrating is that the Cardinals had just won two out of three games against the high-powered Dodgers in attempt to assert themselves as true contenders. This feeling was stymied after being swept at home in three games against the Blue Jays and allowing the Brewers to leapfrog them in the standings with a tough four-game series.

Monday was the Cardinals’ last off day in June as they make their rounds in the AL and NL Central to close out the month. Next stop, Chicago. But not the North Side as the Cardinals head down to Rate Field for a three-game series against the AL-worst White Sox. While the Sox are not nearly as bad as last year’s record-setting team, they have a 23-49 record and are currently 22.5 games behind the AL Central-leading Tigers. What looks to be in the Cardinals’ favor is the fact that the Sox have also lost five in a row and are beginning their youth movement with multiple young players on their every day roster.

The question is, then, is this series a “must-win” for the Cardinals? It is an unfair question to ask in the middle of June when the team has already outperformed expectations, but if John Mozeliak wants to make a playoff push in his last season at the helm, this series could do a lot to push Mo to choose a direction.

The Cardinals go into the series with three of their best pitchers with Matthew Liberatore, Sonny Gray, and Erick Fedde listed as the probable starters. They will take on rookies Shane Smith and Sean Burke before taking on Adrian Houser in the final game of the series.

The White Sox are also the worst hitting team in the Majors in measure of OPS and has the third-lowest total of homers with 55 on the season. The Cardinals offense has been in a lull in June, hitting .239 while averaging just four runs a game, which is partially inflated with nine and seven run performances, which each resulted in a loss. They are also striking out nearly eight times a game and have hit into 10 double plays in 14 games.

This upcoming series in Chicago has potentially turned into a series that would be disappointing to not see the Cardinals sweep, and even more upsetting if they cannot win at least two of the games. If they fail to win the series, the Cardinals may find themselves in an even deeper hole in the NL Central before facing the Reds, Cubs, and Pirates in three of their following four series.

NOTES:

• Jordan Walker and Brendan Donovan both appear to be back with no restrictions. Walker went 1-for-3 in his return to the lineup while Donovan went 2-for-4 after sitting out with a sore toe.
• Outfielder/DH Alec Burleson is hitting .330 since May 1st
• Erick Fedde is winless in his last 6 starts, going 0-3 but has a 3.34 ERA in that span.
• Closer Ryan Helsley has given up a run in four straight appearances and has not tallied a save since May 31.
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