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St. Louis Cardinals Fall Again to Clinch First Losing Season in 15 Years

A loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday guaranteed that the St. Louis Cardinals would finish below .500 for the first time since 2007.

Sam Connon

St. Louis Cardinals Fall Again to Clinch First Losing Season in 15 Years
St. Louis Cardinals Fall Again to Clinch First Losing Season in 15 Years /
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Despite entering Friday on a bit of a hot streak, the St. Louis Cardinals couldn't keep their head above water Friday night.

The Cardinals fell 5-4 to the Philadelphia Phillies in game one of a three-game set at Busch Stadium. The defeat knocked St. Louis to 65-82 on the year, which locks in a sub-.500 season for the Redbirds.

The last time the Cardinals posted a losing record was in 2007, when they went 78-84. To avoid falling short of that mark, St. Louis would have to go 13-2 in its final 15 games.

The Cardinals had won seven of their previous 10 heading into Friday's matchup with the Phillies. In that stretch, St. Louis won series against the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, all of whom currently hold playoff spots.

St. Louis entered 2023 with postseason aspirations of its own, having made the playoffs in each of the past four seasons with two NL Central titles to show for it. Not only are the Cardinals now on the verge of getting mathematically eliminated from contention, but they are flirting with their worst overall record in a generation.

Should they fall short of their finish in 2007, the next target becomes 1999, when the Cardinals went 75-86. St. Louis is currently on pace to finish 72-90, which would match the club's worst record in a full season since 1990.

The Cardinals can try to recover and avoid that fate Saturday against the Phillies. First pitch from St. Louis is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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