The 2023 season has been an odd one for the St. Louis Cardinals.
This is a team that is normally right in the thick of the postseason race.
However, pitching deficiencies have cost them dearly, and as a result, they own the second-worst record in the National League at 55-71.
It appears to already be a forgone conclusion at this point that the Cardinals will miss the postseason and see their 15-year streak of consecutive winning seasons snapped.
Interestingly enough though, they own an impressive mark in games where they score first.
In those games, the Cardinals have a record of 41-22 and have played at a 106-win pace.
On Twitter, John Denton of MLB.com pointed out this interesting fact.
Of all the #STLCards madness, this stat might be the zaniest of all:
* When the Cards score first, they are 41-22 (.650).
* When the opponent scores first, they are 13-48 (.213).
When they score first, they're the equivalent of a 106-win team.
When they don't, a 35-win team.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) August 22, 2023
On the opposite side of the coin, the Cardinals are 13-48 in games where the opponent scores first, playing at just a 35-win pace.
There is a stark contrast between games in which the Cardinals score first and games in which their opponents are the ones to score first.
Scoring first generally seems to be a good omen for the team, despite their struggles this year.
More often than not, that is the case for most teams.
The Cardinals fell into an early 8-0 hole on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
They only answered with one run and lost by a final score of 11-1 in their series opener.
But the team does tend to play better when they score first, and that is something they’ll need to continue to do if they want to spoil the hopes of contending teams down the stretch.
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