Cardinals lose third walk-off of second half after pitcher forgets to cover first

Trevor Rosenthal's gaffe led to a Cardinals' loss to the Mets

On July 14, the Cardinals lost in walk-off fashion when Josh Bell of the Pirates hit a ninth-inning home run. Two days later, Adam Frazier registered a walk-off single off Brett Cecil. Then on Thursday the Cardinals suffered their third walk-off loss of the still-young second half (NYM 3, STL 2). As you're about to see, this one was particularly painful ... 

A win's a win. pic.twitter.com/fnZhQ2pPU5

— Stadium (@watchstadium) July 20, 2017

Yep, Cardinals hurler Trevor Rosenthal failed to cover first on Jose Reyes' two-out grounder to the right side, which allowed Reyes to reach and Yoenis Cespedes to score the winning run. Covering first on balls hit to the right side is course one of the pitcher's most basic duties, and Rosenthal forgot to do it. 

You could see Matt Carpenter's visible frustration, and that frustration didn't subside all that much by the time the media made its way to the clubhouse. Via MLB.com's Jennifer Langosch ... 

"He knows he has to get over there," Carpenter said of Rosenthal. "I'm almost in the outfield, and I turn to look and throw, and he's nowhere close."

 And ... 

Carpenter on Rosenthal's gaffe: "You've got to go to first base and that's all there is to it."

— Dave Kane (@DaveKaneSJR) July 20, 2017

The Cardinals are now 3-4 since the break, and that in tandem with the Pirates' surge has dropped them to fourth place in the NL Central. As well, their next 13 games come against the Cubs, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Brewers, so it's not getting easier. A couple more like this one, and the St. Louis front office may decide to be deadline sellers.