On the final day of the MLB season, the playoff picture has been resolved. The St. Louis Cardinals clinched the NL Central with a 9-0 shellacking of the Chicago Cubs. It is the first post-season appearance for the Cardinals since 2015. The win automatically gave the Milwaukee Brewers the second NL Wild Card berth. They will travel to D.C. to face the Washington Nationals in the NL Wild Card game on Tuesday night.
The Cardinals began the season winning 20 of first 30 games. But by the All-Star Break they were at .500 (44-44). But after winning 25 of 39 games following the All-Star Break the Cardinals claimed first place in the division for good on August 23rd. To put this into perspective, the Cardinals were only a half game ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates at the half. The Cardinals are going to to the post-season and the Pirates are looking for a new manager.
For the second year in a row, the Milwaukee Brewers played their best baseball in September. The Brewers rose to the occasion after Christian Yelich fractured his kneecap on a foul ball winning 12 of 14 games which was sufficient to give them a second straight post-season appearance. The Brewers were swept by the Colorado Rockies this weekend. Will this stall their momentum when they face Max Scherzer and a Washington Nationals team that finished the season with 8 straight wins? Or will they go onto the face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS?
As for the Cardinals, they will face the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS beginning on Thursday.
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