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“He’s a major-league pitcher,” Mozeliak said of right-hander Michael McGreevy. “There’s just not a spot for him.”

They have the choice now to make one.

The word used late Sunday night in the Cardinals’ clubhouse after a messy 11-0 loss to the archrival Chicago Cubs was “re-evaluation.” That covered a lot ground from a fourth shutout in six days to a pitching staff gone sideways. But it was most specific when used to describe the club’s decision with starter Erick Fedde and whether he or possibly McGreevy makes his next scheduled start. The right-hander did not complete the second inning, and he’s allowed 17 runs in his previous 10 innings, his ERA ballooning from 3.54 to 4.79 in the span of 11 days. Two of his essential pitches, the sinker and cutter, are betraying him.

“I think we have to use (Monday) as a day we take a step back and figure out what that looks like,” manager Oliver Marmol said of Fedde’s next appearance. “The reality is he has to find a solution to what is going on and make an adjustment in order to get through an outing successfully. Continuing to go down this road doesn’t seem like it’s beneficial.”

The Cardinals’ three-city, nine-game road trip began with such promise, such pep with a sweep in Cleveland only to spiral into a sinkhole of shutouts and pitching concerns once the journey ended on the North Side of Chicago.

Two days after the Cubs peppered the Cardinals with eight home runs in a single game – a record for homers hit by a Cubs team and a record for homers allowed by a Cardinals team in more 130 years of shared history – they clobbered the Cardinals with 11 more runs Sunday. The Cubs led 10-0 before the Cardinals could get the second out of the fourth inning. The Cardinals were shut out for the fourth time in the final six games of the road trip, and they were crushed again on national television. In two appearances on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, the Cardinals have been outscored 29 to 7.

“You re-evaluate. You have to just look at things how they are,” said Brendan Donovan a few hours after learning he would be the Cardinals’ representative at the All-Star Game. “I’ve said it: All that matters is how you respond. You’re going to get some waves of adversity, and it’s just how you respond. You never know what you have until you get kicked in the teeth. And we got kicked in the teeth.”

It happened fast Sunday.

Fedde labored through a plodding first inning. Three of the six Cubs he faced reached base, and he needed 35 pitches to slip free of being further behind than 1-0. The second inning was just as problematic. Fedde’s sinker was drilled at 96.6 mph for a leadoff double. His cutter was ripped at 101.9 mph for a groundout. That was the only out he got in the second. A walk to the No. 9 hitter Matt Shaw and a walk to the leadoff hitter Ian Happen ended Fedde’s day after just four outs from 10 batters.

Thanks in part to Miles Mikolas shouldering six innings in a lousy start Friday and Steven Matz’s superb work for a win Saturday, the Cardinals had a full complement of reliever primed for Sunday’s game, and Marmol planned to be aggressive with his use of relievers – especially if Fedde started the founder. Four walks to the first 10 batters caused alarm and the Cardinals went to the bullpen as early they could.

“When you don’t miss bats, you can’t afford to give free passes,” Marmol said. “And then you get to the nine-hole and there’s a free pass there as well. It’s not competitive enough of an outing at that point.”

“Obviously, it’s pretty ugly,” Fedde said. “Got to do something.”

In consecutive innings and twice in the first three innings of the game, Marmol walked to the mound to replace a pitcher with the bases loaded. Two of the runners Fedde (3-9) left behind scored to leave him with three runs allowed on two hits and four runs in 1 1/3 innings. He threw more sweeping sliders than any other pitch, and at times appeared to be a starter reluctant to trust his best pitches. Only one sinker was put in play. Only one cutter was put in play. That hints at the trouble Fedde had getting those pitches in the strike zone as they’re both designed to get soft contact and quick outs.

“My sinker is not running, which is really killing me,” Fedde said. “My cutter is moving, in my opinion, a little too much. … Right now, I’m throwing a lot of balls. When I’m throwing strikes they’re being hit well. It’s a difficult situation to navigate. Maybe, in a sense, thinking too much about outside things – about my mechanics, about tipping, about holding runners – and just not focusing on making the quality pitch right then and there. That is inexcusable and I need to be better about.”

Fedde allowed seven runs in each of his previous two starts, and throughout the past two weeks he has been working between starts to regain familiar shape and sharpness to his pitches.

He has thrown his sweeper harder.

He has thrown his cutter less.

He has not seen the results change.

“I want to go after hitters,” Fedde said. “And I think that comes with the confidence in the stuff and stop trying to pick at the zone.”

In three spot starts and four cameos in the majors. McGreevy has impressed with his poise and stubbornness with his best pitch, a sinker. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA in four games (three starts) in the majors this season. He’s been superb at Class AAA Memphis until a clunker Sunday. McGreevy allowed eight runs on seven hits in three innings to take the loss. His ERA climbed to 3.21 through 14 starts.

Cast as the team’s de facto No. 6 starter because of their depth concern and occasional wish to upshift to a six-starter rotation, McGreevy has shuttled between levels. Mozeliak complimented the right-hander for his patience and agreeable nature. Mozeliak acknowledged that one outcome of the trade deadline could be trading a veteran starter from the rotation to create an opening for McGreevy.

The next day he's available to start corresponds with a game the Cardinals could make a change at starter.

The opportunity arrived earlier, without a trade.

“At some point, he’s going to get that chance,” Mozeliak said. “And I think he’s going to be a very successful major-league pitcher for a long time. It’s nice to know you have a McGreevy in your system.”

McGreevy made his most recent appearance June 24 against the Cubs, and he is next eligible to be promoted to the majors on July 10. Fedde’s next scheduled start would be July 12. There is internal discussion for the Cardinals about not having Fedde make his next start ahead of the All-Star break and subbing in another option, such as McGreevy.

The Cardinals will also consider a refresh for the bullpen after it shouldered 6 2/3 innings Sunday in the wake of Fedde's struggles. Matt Svanson took the bulk of it with 2 1/3 innings and four runs allowed, and lefty John King took the brunt of it with four runs allowed in his 2/3 of an inning.

The Cardinals less immediately concerned with Mikolas after he allowed a club record six homers in the loss Friday. Those home runs all came in the first three innings of Mikolas’ start. The Cubs appeared to have a clue on what was coming, and the Cardinals believed they spotted what Mikolas was doing. When he adjusted, he threw three scoreless innings. His next start will be telling.

Just as obvious is how the Cardinals must improve offensively.

While the pitching staff may be about alternatives, the lineup is about health.

The Cubs have shut out the Cardinals in three of their past five games over the past two weeks. All three were started by a lefty, two of them by All-Star Matthew Boyd, who authored five scoreless innings Sunday. And in all three games, the Cardinals did not have Ivan Herrera. In three of their past four losses, Nolan Arenado did not start due to a sprained finer or the shoulder impingement he experienced at Wrigley Field.

They have scored 11 runs in their past six games.

Two came off a position player, three on Yohel Pozo’s pinch-hit homer.

“We’re beat up,” Marmol said. “The guys who do damage aren’t feeling great. And some of the guys are trying to play through stuff. We’re not in a great spot physically. There’s no way around that one. Herrera’s bat is real. Nolan is not in a good spot there. Some of the other guys, Burly (Alec Burleson) and some others, are playing through it. A couple of days off can be a real thing. I can’t fault them for their preparation, effort, or anything. Guys are trying to grind through somethings. That’s part of 162.”

The Cardinals’ second off day of the past week arrived Monday, and they have six home games between them and the All-Star break.

All six are against struggling teams with losing stretches longer than the Cardinals.

The Washington Nationals fired their longtime manager and general manager Sunday in response to a 37-53 start, and they intend to name an interim manager as they arrive in 51���� to start a series Tuesday. Atlanta (39-50) follows after being swept this past weekend by Baltimore and playing the Athletics this week way out in Sacramento, California.

“We have two series at home,” Donovan said. “It’s how we respond.”