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The bruising on the Busch Stadium scoreboard for the Cardinals on Tuesday was gone when, like their offense, the power to it switched off. And, while that one will linger longer in the standings, there is another contusion, deeper than any score, that has the club鈥檚 attention.

In the fifth inning of a game that got away early and ugly, catcher Willson Contreras stood in the team鈥檚 dugout and, as broadcast by Bally Sports Midwest, removed the cap on a water bottle with his mouth, not his sore left hand. A bone bruise Contreras sustained during the team鈥檚 season-opening road trip continues to cause him discomfort and sometimes zinging pain when catching pitches.

He鈥檚 using a larger mitt now to cushion the sting.

Anything to try to hoist the team out of its skid.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not 100%,鈥� Contreras said late Tuesday night before leaving the ballpark. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 feel good. But it鈥檚 nothing that will keep me away from the game.鈥�

The Cardinals鈥� 14-1 loss to Arizona got ghastly enough early enough that it was more than enough for a handful of the everyday players. A parade of subs started midway through the game.

Contreras was among the first to depart. He pressed his left hand into his left side as he ran to first base on a groundout that ended the fifth inning. He did not return to the field, replaced by rookie Pedro Pages. Contreras and manager Oliver Marmol explained after the game that the score, more than the soreness, led to the decision to have the catcher leave the game when he did. It saved him several innings of pitches against that left hand, where a bone bruise persists more than weeks after an opponent鈥檚 pitch drilled the hand in San Diego.

鈥淪ame catching hand that certain pitches 鈥� it just kind of shocks his hand and takes a minute for him to get the feeling back,鈥� Marmol said. 鈥淭ook a swing. Same thing. But different than yesterday or the day before.鈥�

Said Contreras: 鈥淣eed to be smart about it.鈥�

That is why he鈥檚 switched to the larger mitt 鈥� to give him more room in the pocket to receive pitches and also protect the hand and avoid worse bruising. That is also why the Cardinals have a third catcher, Pages, on the roster to allow them to have backup catcher Ivan Herrera in the lineup and also not lose the DH if Contreras鈥� hand begins to ache.

And one of the guiding reasons why Contreras is doing all he can to stay in the lineup and the Cardinals are doing what they can to put Herrera there, too, is because the team is aching for runs.

The one run the Cardinals held against the Diamondbacks torrent meant they鈥檝e been outscored 39 to 15 in their past six games, five of them losses. They鈥檝e been held to three or fewer runs in eight of their past 10 games. After allowing 14 runs 鈥� each and every one of them earned 鈥� the Cardinals鈥� team ERA ballooned to 4.25, eighth-highest in the majors. But they also don鈥檛 score which leaves them with a minus-30 run differential, one of the worst in the league. Put another away, they鈥檙e allowing 4.25 earned runs for every nine innings they pitch and they are scoring 3.42 runs for every nine innings they come to bat.

The one run scored Tuesday came from Contreras.

The Cardinals had a brief residual flicker from the previous night鈥檚 rousing comeback. Paul Goldschmidt tied Monday鈥檚 game with his first home run since opening day at Dodger Stadium, and Nolan Gorman shattered an 0-for-18 spell with a two-run, walk-off launch in the ninth inning for a 5-3 victory. It had all the makings of a revival game and, in hindsight, none of the lasting results. Contreras hit a solo homer in the first inning Tuesday off Arizona lefty Tommy Henry. And that was it. The Cardinals did not muster another run against Henry, who entered the game with an ERA of 6.87.

It was not for lack of opportunities.

All six of the Cardinals left on base were in scoring position.

They continued to struggle to deliver offensively, but they also pitched poorly.

For the first time since 2007, two Cardinals pitchers allowed at least seven runs in the same game. Zack Thompson shouldered the middle, turbulent innings and is could be bound for Class AAA Memphis having exhausted his availability for a few days with 66 pitches to get through 2 2/3 innings. He allowed two of the three home runs the Cardinals hit and was solely in the game to give the Cardinals innings. The innings Thompson provided to avoid using other relievers is why Marmol went from lefty Steven Matz to lefty Thompson against a lineup that has an MLB-best .318 average against lefties and a .499 slugging percentage vs. lefties.

鈥淎 lot of pitches in the heart of the plate,鈥� Marmol said of Thompson鈥檚 outing. 鈥淎nd they got hit.鈥�

Matz (1-2) had a narrow way out of his problematic third inning, even as the lefty-chomping top of the Diamondbacks鈥� order came back around for a second look at him. Matz invited trouble with two walks to the No. 9 and leadoff hitters. The reprieve came when he struck out No. 2 hitter Gabriel Moreno. That second out of the inning, even with two runners on, put Matz on the brink of an escape.

Four pitches later the Cardinals had lost their lead and trailed, 4-1.

One pitch undid his start.

Christian Walker tagged an 84-mph changeup 鈥� the first pitch of his at-bat 鈥� that wasn鈥檛 inside enough for a three-run homer. That snapped the 1-1 tie Matz had a chance to maintain.

鈥淒efinitely felt like that was a huge pitch right there,鈥� the lefty said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really kicking myself for that changeup I threw to Walker because I just felt like it wasn鈥檛 the right pitch. That was the one chance and he got slower (pitch) in the zone. Obviously, you can locate it better. But I think I鈥檝e got to challenge him there with my fastball vs. giving him a chance with the slower pitch.鈥�

Matz remained in the game into the fifth inning when the first three batters, each of them seeing him for a third time, got base hits. Matz鈥檚 season ERA added two runs to it after he allowed seven on six hits through 4 1/3 innings. The Diamondbacks sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs in the decisive fifth inning, and that was all before Arizona DH Pavin Smith hit the second grand slam of his career and his second grand slam at Busch.

The six runs in the fifth widened the gulch to 10-1 and led to Contreras leaving.

鈥淚 just wanted to make sure I鈥檓 good to go (Wednesday),鈥� Contreras said.

By several measures, through 24 games, he鈥檚 been among the Cardinals鈥� most reliable performers. His improved defensive play puts him among the league-leaders in Defensive Runs Saved. He started Tuesday鈥檚 game with a .286 average while six of the other starters left that game with a batting average of .213 or lower. Four have an average of .195 or lower, and Gorman raised his average to that point with two hits.

Willson鈥檚 career-best 14-game hitting streak ended Monday, as did his 26-game on-base streak that stretched back this past season. He started both anew with his third homer of the season. That gives the Cardinals鈥� catcher six combined homers.

Six more than the DH position.

Six more than right field and center field combined.

Twice as many as all of the outfielders.

So Contreras keeps his sore hand on a bat, adds some heft to his mitt, and keeps playing through a grip that sometimes bothers him. Twice in the past week, Contreras has left a game due to pain in the hand. He had enough time in Tuesday鈥檚 game to receive additional treatment in the final innings and leave the ballpark feeling better about his availability for Wednesday鈥檚 series finale and day game. The Cardinals are 0-7 in series finales this season. Contreras said being ready to play was a focus of leaving the blowout. He took advantage of a game that went sideways to do what he could to be available to try and keep the next one from adding to the spiral.

Asked what he could do to help his hand continue to heal and avoid the pain.

鈥淐atch the ball in the pocket,鈥� he said.