Diamondbacks find the soft underbelly of Cardinals’ bullpen

3:31 AM ET

PHOENIX — Hitters at Chase Field, one of the game’s most uncomfortable places to pitch, tend to poke and prod at opposing staffs until they eventually find a weak spot.

So, while the St. Louis Cardinals’ bullpen generally has been a bright spot, its breaking point was as likely to be in Arizona as any other place. The Cardinals went into Monday with the No. 4 bullpen ERA in the major leagues, having held opponents to a .176 batting average. Only the Seattle Mariners’ relievers have been harder to hit.

But after the carnage of a nine-run sixth inning in Monday’s 12-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, those numbers aren’t quite as tidy. Manager Mike Matheny was hoping Jaime Garcia would take the ball deep into the game, because some of his best relief pitchers (such as Kevin Siegrist) have been sick and others (Jonathan Broxton and Seung Hwan Oh) have been overworked.

The Cardinals’ bullpen failed to help Jaime Garcia after the left-hander ran into trouble in the sixth inning. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

It didn’t work out …

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