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The 2016 St. Louis Cardinals have had a tough time securing sweeps this season. This was evidenced last night in the loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates and at other times this season.
Last night’s loss against the Pirates, while also allowing the Mets to pull to a tie with the St. Louis Cardinals for the second NL Wild Card slot, was disappointing as a loss. In addition, this loss was disappointing as it was yet another would-be sweep gone in the wind.
We all want to cheer for a team that can close the door on a team via a sweep. In years past, the St. Louis Cardinals were able to complete sweeps. This just doesn’t seem to be the case with this season’s squad; or is it?
All is not lost, dear friends, as the 2016 St. Louis Cardinals have completed seven sweeps this season. Does this mean that this team is worse than previous teams? The 2015 Cardinals completed eleven sweeps, while the 2014 team completed only five sweeps in the entire season (so maybe this year isn’t so bad after all?).
As a quick point of reference, the 2006 World Series St. Louis Cardinals completed nine sweeps so this season’s team is only two behind at this point. As another point of reference, the 2011 World Series Cardinals completed seven sweeps on the season.
Let’s take a look at the seven sweeps completed this season.
Next: April Braves Sweep