The St. Louis Cardinals' Bullpen Is Unsustainably Bad, Left-Handed

Cardinals Vs. Phillies Final Score: St. Louis Loses 8-7 In 11 Innings

Jon Jay and Matt Carpenter had big days at the plate and the St. Louis Cardinals scored seven runs, but it wasn't enough to fend off the Philadelphia Phillies, who prevailed 8-7 on Sunday thanks to Juan Pierre's walk-off infield single in the 11th inning.

Related: Of Course the St. Louis Cardinals Lost a Game on a Walk-Off Infield Single by Juan Pierre

Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn didn't have his best stuff and allowed four runs in five innings of work. Still, the Cardinals were in position to win after taking a 7-4 lead in the top of the eighth inning. But the St. Louis bullpen promptly gave up that lead in the bottom half of the inning, as the Phillies scored three runs of their own. That set up Pierre's heroics three innings later.

With the loss, the Cardinals fell to 62-53.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos and Phillies blog The Good Phight . For more news and notes from around the world of professional baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Sign Lance Zawadzki To Minor League Contract

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed infielder Lance Zawadzki to a minor league contract, according to the Pacific Coast League's official transactions page. Zawadzki has been assigned to Triple-A Memphis, where he's already made his debut with the team.

After spending the first four years of his minor league career in the San Diego Padres system, Zawadzki has bounced around a bunch of organizations. In 2011, he played for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate, and he's spent time with the Braves' and Dodgers' Triple-A affiliates this year, as well.

The 27-year-old had flashed potential during his initial climb up the minor league ladder, but things have stalled badly in Triple-A. Over 776 plate appearances at that level, Zawadzki has hit just .231/.286/.343, struggling to get on base or hit for power. At this point, his defensive versatility is presumably the primary appeal that he has to big league organizations.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos and Phillies blog The Good Phight . For more news and notes from around the world of professional baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Phillies Preview: St. Louis Looks To Take Rubber Match

After facing Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in back-to-back games over the weekend, the St. Louis Cardinals will see a welcome face on Sunday: Vance Worley. Of course, Worley, the Philadelphia Phillies starter, is no slouch himself, but he's certainly no Halladay or Lee.

The Cardinals will enter Sunday's game vs. Worley looking to take the series in Philadelphia. They'll counter with Lance Lynn, who will be following two stellar starts by Cardinals starters Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook. Lynn, despite putting up career numbers in the first half of the season, has been steady since the All-Star Break, putting up a 3.90 ERA in five starts despite a 1.50 WHIP.

Game date/time: Sunday, August 12, 12:35 p.m. CT

Location: Citizen's Bank Park, Philadelphia, Penn.

TV: FSN Midwest

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos and Phillies blog The Good Phight . For more news and notes from around the world of professional baseball, visitBaseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Phillies Final Score: St. Louis Bounces Back For 4-1 Win

For the second straight night vs. the Philadelphia Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals received a stellar performance from their starting pitcher. But unlike Friday night, they provided enough offense to pick up a victory, winning 4-1.

St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook threw 7.2 innings on Saturday night, allowing only four hits and a single earned run in the bottom of the first inning. The final out in the eighth inning was secured by Mark Rzepczynski, with closer Jason Motte pitching a perfect ninth inning for his 26th save of the 2012 season.

The Cardinals' offense was mostly provided by Matt Holliday, who smacked a homer to right field in the sixth inning to put St. Louis up 3-1. Carlos Beltran added the fourth run with a single in the top of the ninth.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos and Phillies blog The Good Phight . For more news and notes from around the world of professional baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Phillies Lineups: Ryan Jackson Gets A Start At 2B For St. Louis

The Cardinals head into Saturday night's game against the Phillies looking to rebound from a 3-1 loss on Friday. The full lineups are listed below.

St. Louis:

1. Jon Jay (L) CF
2. Allen Craig (R) 1B
3. Matt Holliday (R) LF
4. Carlos Beltran (S) RF
5. David Freese (R) 3B
6. Yadier Molina (R) C
7. Rafael Furcal (S) SS
8. Ryan Jackson (R) 2B
9. Jake Westbrook (R) P

Related: The St. Louis Cardinals' Last Free Infield Move

Philadelphia:

1. Jimmy Rollins (S) SS
2. Domonic Brown (L) RF
3. Chase Utley (L) 2B
4. Ryan Howard (L) 1B
5. Laynce Nix (L) LF
6. Nate Schierholtz (L) CF
7. Kevin Frandsen (R) 3B
8. Erik Kratz (R) C
9. Cliff Lee (L) P

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos and Phillies blog The Good Phight . For more news and notes from around the world of professional baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Phillies Preview: Cliff Lee And Jake Westbrook Face Off On Saturday

After dropping the first game of their weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies in a pitching duel on Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals aim to grab a win on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Ballpark. Jake Westbrook (11-8, 3.76 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals, and he will be opposed by Phillies starter Cliff Lee (2-6, 3.78 ERA). Westbrook put together a solid outing in his last start by pitching 6.0 innings and giving up just two earned runs against the San Francisco Giants on August 6, so he will be looking to keep the momentum moving in a positive direction during the month of August.

Here is a look at the game time and TV information for Saturday's matchup:

Game Date & Time: Saturday, Aug. 11, 6:05 p.m. CT

TV: FOX Sports Midwest

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos and Phillies blog The Good Phight . For more news and notes from around the world of professional baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Phillies Final Score: St. Louis Falls, 3-1

Philadelphia Phillies starter Roy Halladay hasn't had the best year of his career in 2012, but he looked like the Doc of old on Friday night vs. the St. Louis Cardinals. Halladay threw eight innings of one-run ball as the Phillies scored a 3-1 victory on Friday night.

Cardinals star Carlos Beltran smacked a homer to right in the second inning, but the lead would only slip away from there. In the bottom of the second, Phillies right fielder Dominic Brown singled to right to score Ryan Howard to tie the game. The game would stay scoreless until the bottom of the eighth, when Chase Utley hit a two-run bomb off Barret Browning to go up 3-1.

St. Louis wasted another stellar outing from Kyle Lohse, who lowered his season ERA to 2.72 by allowing only one run over seven innings. He also struck out seven.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos and Phillies blog The Good Phight . For more news and notes from around the world of professional baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Phillies Lineups: Kyle Lohse Takes The Mound For St. Louis

The Cardinals open up a weekend series in Philadelphia on Friday night with Kyle Lohse on the mound and the same batting order they used in Thursday's win over the Giants. The lineups for both St. Louis and the Phillies are below.

St. Louis:

1. Jon Jay (L) CF
2. Allen Craig (R) 1B
3. Matt Holliday (R) LF
4. Carlos Beltran (S) RF
5. David Freese (R) 3B
6. Yadier Molina (R) C
7. Daniel Descalso (L) 2B
8. Rafael Furcal (S) SS
9. Kyle Lohse (R) P

Related: How the St. Louis Cardinals Build Depth

Philadelphia:

1. Jimmy Rollins (S) SS
2. Juan Pierre (L) LF
3. Chase Utley (L) 2B
4. Ryan Howard (L) 1B
5. Domonic Brown (L) RF
6. Nate Schierholtz (L) CF
7. Erik Kratz (R) C
8. Kevin Frandsen (R) 3B
9. Roy Halladay (R) P

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to St. Louis Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos and Phillies blog The Good Phight . For more news and notes from around the world of professional baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Cardinals Vs. Phillies Preview: St. Louis Heads To Philadelphia For A Weekend Series

The St. Louis Cardinals travel to Philadelphia to open a three-game weekend series on Friday night.