Struggling Cards undergo shakeup

ST. LOUIS — The wobbly Cardinals shook up their coaching staff and cut slumping infielder Jhonny Peralta on Friday, hoping to spur a team that’s struggled all season after a rare playoff miss last year.

Third-base coach Chris Maloney was replaced by Mike Shildt, and the Cardinals shuffled several other assistant coaching positions. They also activated second baseman Kolten Wong from the disabled list.

The Cardinals went into Friday night’s game against the Phillies with a 26-32 record. They were just 4 games out of the lead in the tight National League Central, but this week the Cardinals endured their first seven-game losing streak since 2013.

“This is not how we envisioned things,” general manager John Mozeliak said. “The season has not gone (as) we had hoped.”

Last year, the Cardinals were out of the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

They are hoping to score more after averaging a paltry 2.75 runs per game so far in June. Overall, manager Mike Matheny’s club was second-to-last in the NL in runs going into the weekend.

“This is all a direct result of how we’ve been playing,” third baseman Jedd Gyorko said. “We’ve got to play better.

“If we’re 10 games over .500 and in first, these changes aren’t going to happen. We’re not where we want to be, but we know we can turn it around.”

The Cardinals signed center fielder Dexter Fowler away from the Cubs in the offseason with hopes of improving the team’s athleticism and speed. Fowler has struggled, hitting .222, but so have the rest of the Cardinals.

“Do we have the pieces to be a playoff team?” Mozeliak said. “Yes, but we have to start playing better.”