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After taking two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers this week, the St. Louis Cardinals have a golden opportunity to gain even more ground in the National League Wild Card race due to this weekend's matchup against the Colorado Rockies and tough sledding for the other teams in the Wild Card race.
Had Riley O'Brien closed the door on the Dodgers last night, the Cardinals would have walked away with a series sweep and felt much better about their playoff odds, but if they truly want to prove they are still in this race, a sweep of the Rockies this weekend could change the National League Wild Card race.
Latest NL Wild Card standings after Cardinals series win against Dodgers
Team | Record | Games Back |
|---|---|---|
Philadelphia Phillies | 79-61 | +5.5 |
Chicago Cubs | 79-62 | +5.0 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | 74-67 | - |
San Diego Padres | 73-67 | 0.5 |
Miami Marlins | 71-70 | 3.0 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 70-71 | 4.0 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 69-72 | 5.0 |
The Cardinals currently sit four games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third National League Wild Card, with the Padres and the Marlins right in front of them. Fortunately for St. Louis, they have by far the easiest opponent of the weekend on their slate.
Team | Weekend Opponent | Strength of Schedule Remaining |
|---|---|---|
Philadelphia Phillies | Atlanta Braves | 2nd most difficult |
Chicago Cubs | Miami Marlins | 5th most difficult |
Arizona Diamondbacks | Houston Astros | 20th most difficult |
San Diego Padres | New York Yankees | 21st most difficult |
Miami Marlins | Chicago Cubs | 3rd most difficult |
St. Louis Cardinals | Colorado Rockies | 25th most difficult |
Pittsburgh Pirates | Los Angeles Angels | 15th most difficult |
The Diamondbacks travel to Houston to face the Astros, the Padres are hosting the Yankees, and Miami is playing at home against the Cubs. If the Cardinals sweep, which is very possible, and those three teams lose their series, which is also in play, the Cardinals will then only be two games out of the NL Wild Card with 18 games remaining. And with the strength of schedules ahead of each team in the race, the Cardinals do seem to have the advantage there too.
The tricky thing about this series for the Cardinals will be the Coors Field effect. The Cardinals' offense has been much better on the road this year, so I expect them to put up runs, but their pitching has also been worse away from Busch Stadium, so I would be concerned about some crooked numbers being put up against them as well. St. Louis does get Andre Pallante back for this series, so that's a major plus for them.
FanGraphs currently puts the Cardinals' odds of making the playoffs at just 2.6%, highlighting just how much needs to go their way for this to happen. It will require a strong push from the team down the stretch, as well as the teams in front of them faltering.
Updated NL Playoff picture heading into crucial weekend for Cardinals
The Cardinals sure made the Dodgers' lives harder this weekend, as they are currently fighting tooth and nail with the Braves for the second seed in the NL Playoff picture.
Seed | Team | Record | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Milwaukee Brewers | 87-54 | NL Central Leader |
2 | Atlanta Braves | 83-57 | NL East Leader |
3 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 83-57 | NL West Leader |
4 | Philadelphia Phillies | 79-71 | 1st Wild Card |
5 | Chicago Cubs | 79-62 | 2nd Wild Card |
6 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 74-67 | 3rd Wild Card |
Should the Cardinals sneak into the playoffs, they would be looking at a date with the Braves or the Dodgers, two teams they've had success against this year. There's a lot of work to be done to get to that point, though.
Looking within the division, the Brewers are likely to be the number one seed this year in the National League, and the Cubs are looking more and more like a World Series contender. I don't think anyone likes that!
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