St. Louis Cardinals: Examining Possible Postseason Scenarios

Sep 29, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) celebrates after hitting a walk off double off of Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Blake Wood (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 29, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) celebrates after hitting a walk off double off of Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Blake Wood (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 29, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Jedd Gyorko (3) celebrates with manager Mike Matheny (22) after hitting a solo home run off of Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Dan Straily (not pictured) during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 29, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Jedd Gyorko (3) celebrates with manager Mike Matheny (22) after hitting a solo home run off of Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Dan Straily (not pictured) during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Three-way tie for both spots

If the Cardinals, Mets and Giants all finish with the same record, St. Louis would host the first of two National League play-in games against the Mets to determine which team claims the top wild card spot. Theoretically, this could occur if the Cardinals sweep the Pirates, the Giants win two of three against the Dodgers and the Mets only win one game against Philadelphia this weekend.

Based off Major League Baseball’s postseason format, the Cardinals would host the play-in game for the top Wild Card seed against the Mets on Monday. St. Louis and New York have identical head-to-head records (7-6) against one another and the Giants.

The next precedent for seeding would be divisional records. As long as the Cardinals win two of three against the Pirates to get into this position, they would finish with a better divisional record than the Mets and ultimately host New York at home.

The winner of the first-seed playoff game would still be in postseason contention and represent the home team for the official Wild Card game on Wednesday. The loser would host the Giants for the second play-in game to decide who takes the last Wild Card spot. Through this setup, the Cardinals would play two more games at Busch Stadium within three days, regardless of the outcome of the first qualifier.