Craig Kimbrel trudged off the Wrigley Field mound Saturday with a 6.53 ERA, a third blown save and the prospect of a fourth lo s in 23 appearances this season.The "L" was confirmed three outs later as his Cardinals counterpart, Carlos Martinez, nailed down a 9-8 St. Louis victory Alijah Vera-Tucker Jersey that was made po sible by the two solo home runs Kimbrel allowed in the top of the ninth inning.The long balls were two more signs that Kimbrel, 31, is no longer an invincible closer. Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong took him deep back to back; they were no-doubters off first-pitch fastballs clocked at 97 and 96 mph, respectively. Kimbrel has now allowed a career-high nine home runs in just 20 2/3 innings in 2019.FOSTER: "First and second pitch of an inning, thought like I made two competitive pitches that I wanted to and they went out. It's just frustrating. I mean, that's the only thing I can say," Kimbrel said, per .Kimbrel's fastballs may have been competitive, but the trends showed beforehand that they wouldn't be unhittable. Kimbrel has Sam Darnold Jersey been losing velocity the past two seasons: His average fastballs from 2017-19, per Fangraphs: 98.6, 97.5, 96.4. As hitters continue to adjust to increased average velocity acro s MLB, 96 and 97 are not as tough to turn around as before, especially when they come in as straight as Kimbrel's fastballs do.Kimbrel has been mostly a two-pitch pitcher for his career. His second is a curveball; it, too, John Franklin-Myers Jersey is coming in slower these days: 86.0 mph in 2019 compared to 87.6 mph in 2017."It's easy to gue s fastball on him. The key is to not mi s it. A lot of guys foul it off; they didn't foul it off. New York Jets Polos Both of them hit it squarely," Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters.There are built-in excuses, if anyone wants to use them, for this year's downturn and the latest blown save. Kimbrel waited until June 7 to sign with the Cubs as a free agent, and he made his season debut just 20 days later. He mi sed 17 days this month because of right elbow inflammation. Saturday's appearance was his second off the injured list; he gave up a home run in his first outing, too.But even with a full spring training and good health during Jonathan Marshall Jersey the season, there's data to suggest Kimbrel might still be struggling to keep the ball in the yard and keep the Cubs ahead in games.The one consolation, perhaps, is that it's becoming more and more likely Kimbrel will have a full offseason to heal and adjust. The Cubs' lo s Saturday dropped them six games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central race and, eventually,three games behind the Brewers in the race for the second National League wild-card spot with seven games remaining.