Clock ticking on struggling Moss and Co.

CHICAGO — Brandon Moss is done tabulating the moral victories. Rather, the Cardinals’ first baseman sees a shrinking schedule offering him limited time to reverse the worst skid in his 10-year career.

Moss, whose hitless night on Sunday leaves him with five hits this month, may be the extreme example within an exasperating offense, but his search is also the Cardinals’ collective quest. With their offense stymied by National League Cy Young Award contender Jon Lester, the Cardinals dropped their series finale at Wrigley Field, 3-1, to fall back into third place in the NL Wild Card race. They trail the Giants by a half-game, the Mets by 1 1/2. Seven games remain.

St. Louis’ positioning within the standings is largely its own doing, too. September has seen the Cardinals’ offense go hot and then ice cold regularly, and it’s left the team 11-12 since the month began. In the 11 wins, the club has scored 70 runs. Yet, they’ve scored 19 in the 12 losses.

It’s left manager Mike Matheny mixing and matching lineups almost daily, desperate to find something that sticks.

“I’m just trying to get guys hot,” Matheny said. “How many guys can we get hot? That’s the key. When we get …

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