Mets vs Pirates for the Pennant.
After last night's loss to the lowly Brewers this is unlikely to happen. Even if the Pirates win 16 of their remaining games, the Cards only have to win 12 of 22 to win the division. The Buccos needed that game last night.
If the Pirates go 1 and done in a wild card game it will be pretty darn demoralizing.
If the Pirates go 1 and done in a wild card game it will be pretty darn demoralizing.
http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/sto...bs-pirates-nl-central-race-wild-card-one-game
Are stumbling Cardinals in danger of blowing the NL Central?
MLB
By Ryan Fagan
@ryanfagan
Published on Sep. 14, 2015
Joe Maddon was sitting in the visitor’s dugout at Busch Stadium last week, chatting with media members before his Cubs opened a three-game series against the Cardinals.
Chicago’s manager was talking about his team’s goals, how they still wanted to catch the Pirates in the NL Central race and then hopefully put the division-leading Cardinals in their sights. Maddon is not one to shrink away from a challenge, and the idea of catching St. Louis — which had an 8.5-game lead over the Cubs and a 5.5-game edge on the Pirates — was certainly a challenge.
“Give the Cardinals credit,” Maddon said. “They have not blinked at all.”
That was a week ago.
Since then, the Cardinals have blinked. They have squinted. Their eyes have flickered, fluttered and flashed, and now when they look at the Central standings, they see the Pirates a mere 2.5 games back. The Cubs got within 5.5 games and now sit 6.5 back.
The blink actually started before Maddon and his Cubs arrived.
The Cardinals capped a stretch of nine wins in 10 games with a walk-off win against the Nationals — Brandon Moss hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth — on Sept. 1. That win moved them 40 games over the .500 mark at 86-46; only eight teams since 2000 have finished a season at least 40 games over .500, and the Cardinals were sitting there after their first game of September.
They lost the finale of that series, 4-3, in a game started by rookie Tyler Lyons because the Cardinals wanted to push Michael Wacha back a few days to give him some rest.
Then they lost two of three at home to the Pirates, with the two losses by a combined score of 16-4. Then, Maddon’s Cubs took the first two of the series, by a combined score of 17-5. After the Cardinals salvaged the finale of that series, they went to Cincinnati, where they promptly lost three in a row to a Reds team that was 24 games under .500.
Yep, that’s a blink. A disastrous blink.
So what happened to a team that sidestepped every pitfall — and with injuries to stars Adam Wainwright, Matt Holliday and Matt Adams, there were plenty of potential pitfalls that needed sidestepping — for the first five months of the season?
Let’s take a look at the September numbers.
We’ll start with the pitching, at the most basic level. Their team ERA so far this month is 5.31, which ranks 24th in the majors. In the first five months, it was an MLB-best 2.65. Their September FIP is 4.53, which is 17th in the bigs; it was an MLB-best 3.36 heading into this month. Their walks per nine jumped from 2.81 to 3.51. Their homers allowed per nine went from 0.66 to 1.46. Their WHIP went from 1.22 to 1.55.
You get the picture. A pitching staff that was awesome for five months has been mostly awful for the past couple weeks. A disturbance in the rotation might have been part of the factor; in that stretch, Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Lance Lynn each had their starts pushed back for various reasons, and all three struggled after the extra rest.
The offense, which was middle of the pack for the first five months — 4.1 runs per game, team average of .255, team OPS of .716 — has been pretty awful lately. During that 2-8 stretch, the Cardinals averaged just 2.3 runs a game, had a team batting average of .227 and a team OPS of .607.
Yikes, right? Of course, this is a small sample size, only 10 games of a 162-game season.
And the Cardinals had been so very good during the first five months of the season that they built up a decent little cushion, despite playing in the best division in baseball (the Pirates and Cubs will claim the NL’s two wild-card spots. That cushion’s gone, though, and the possibly having to play in the dreaded one-game wild-card is suddenly a way-too-close reality for the team that’s owned the best record in baseball for most of the season.
So here’s the question: Was that 2-8 stretch an aberration that will be quickly forgotten with a return to life as the Cardinals knew it for five months, or was this stretch the beginning of what would be an epic September collapse?
There are plenty of reasons for Cardinals fans to lean toward the aberration side. Pitching on normal rest — starters are extreme creatures of routine — should help the rotation stalwarts return to normalcy.
And the offense should get a bit of a boost. Matt Adams is off the DL and hit a home run Sunday. Randal Grichuk is off the DL and should be able to return to the starting lineup soon. Matt Holliday might return this week in Milwaukee.
So we’ll see. The Cardinals have three more games against the Cubs and three more against the Pirates — all six on the road — remaining this season. If nothing else, that should make for compelling basebal
Are stumbling Cardinals in danger of blowing the NL Central?
MLB
By Ryan Fagan
@ryanfagan
Published on Sep. 14, 2015
Joe Maddon was sitting in the visitor’s dugout at Busch Stadium last week, chatting with media members before his Cubs opened a three-game series against the Cardinals.
Chicago’s manager was talking about his team’s goals, how they still wanted to catch the Pirates in the NL Central race and then hopefully put the division-leading Cardinals in their sights. Maddon is not one to shrink away from a challenge, and the idea of catching St. Louis — which had an 8.5-game lead over the Cubs and a 5.5-game edge on the Pirates — was certainly a challenge.
“Give the Cardinals credit,” Maddon said. “They have not blinked at all.”
That was a week ago.
Since then, the Cardinals have blinked. They have squinted. Their eyes have flickered, fluttered and flashed, and now when they look at the Central standings, they see the Pirates a mere 2.5 games back. The Cubs got within 5.5 games and now sit 6.5 back.
The blink actually started before Maddon and his Cubs arrived.
The Cardinals capped a stretch of nine wins in 10 games with a walk-off win against the Nationals — Brandon Moss hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth — on Sept. 1. That win moved them 40 games over the .500 mark at 86-46; only eight teams since 2000 have finished a season at least 40 games over .500, and the Cardinals were sitting there after their first game of September.
They lost the finale of that series, 4-3, in a game started by rookie Tyler Lyons because the Cardinals wanted to push Michael Wacha back a few days to give him some rest.
Then they lost two of three at home to the Pirates, with the two losses by a combined score of 16-4. Then, Maddon’s Cubs took the first two of the series, by a combined score of 17-5. After the Cardinals salvaged the finale of that series, they went to Cincinnati, where they promptly lost three in a row to a Reds team that was 24 games under .500.
Yep, that’s a blink. A disastrous blink.
So what happened to a team that sidestepped every pitfall — and with injuries to stars Adam Wainwright, Matt Holliday and Matt Adams, there were plenty of potential pitfalls that needed sidestepping — for the first five months of the season?
Let’s take a look at the September numbers.
We’ll start with the pitching, at the most basic level. Their team ERA so far this month is 5.31, which ranks 24th in the majors. In the first five months, it was an MLB-best 2.65. Their September FIP is 4.53, which is 17th in the bigs; it was an MLB-best 3.36 heading into this month. Their walks per nine jumped from 2.81 to 3.51. Their homers allowed per nine went from 0.66 to 1.46. Their WHIP went from 1.22 to 1.55.
You get the picture. A pitching staff that was awesome for five months has been mostly awful for the past couple weeks. A disturbance in the rotation might have been part of the factor; in that stretch, Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Lance Lynn each had their starts pushed back for various reasons, and all three struggled after the extra rest.
The offense, which was middle of the pack for the first five months — 4.1 runs per game, team average of .255, team OPS of .716 — has been pretty awful lately. During that 2-8 stretch, the Cardinals averaged just 2.3 runs a game, had a team batting average of .227 and a team OPS of .607.
Yikes, right? Of course, this is a small sample size, only 10 games of a 162-game season.
And the Cardinals had been so very good during the first five months of the season that they built up a decent little cushion, despite playing in the best division in baseball (the Pirates and Cubs will claim the NL’s two wild-card spots. That cushion’s gone, though, and the possibly having to play in the dreaded one-game wild-card is suddenly a way-too-close reality for the team that’s owned the best record in baseball for most of the season.
So here’s the question: Was that 2-8 stretch an aberration that will be quickly forgotten with a return to life as the Cardinals knew it for five months, or was this stretch the beginning of what would be an epic September collapse?
There are plenty of reasons for Cardinals fans to lean toward the aberration side. Pitching on normal rest — starters are extreme creatures of routine — should help the rotation stalwarts return to normalcy.
And the offense should get a bit of a boost. Matt Adams is off the DL and hit a home run Sunday. Randal Grichuk is off the DL and should be able to return to the starting lineup soon. Matt Holliday might return this week in Milwaukee.
So we’ll see. The Cardinals have three more games against the Cubs and three more against the Pirates — all six on the road — remaining this season. If nothing else, that should make for compelling basebal
<figure class="poster first-image" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.4px; font-family: mlb_primary; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; max-height: 600px; position: relative; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background: rgb(238, 238, 238);">
<figcaption class="meta-data video" style="margin: 0px; padding: 15px 170px 15px 20px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; position: absolute; bottom: 0px; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 54px; box-sizing: border-box; width: 926px; background: url(http://ui.bamstatic.com/mlbv2/sections/news2/images/caption-bg.png) 0px 0px repeat;">Must C: Alvarez's clutch tater1:14
9/24/15: Pedro Alvarez delivers a clutch three-run homer with two outs in the 8th inning to put the Pirates ahead of the Rockies, 5-4
0 COMMENTS</button>
[/FONT]
DENVER -- Jeff Locke was sitting in the Pirates' training room with Bobby LaFromboise. Locke's start during Thursday afternoon's 5-4 win over the Rockies had ended in the sixth when LaFromboise relieved him, retiring the one batter he faced and stranding Locke's two baserunners.
Now it was the eighth, and Locke and LaFromboise were watching the game on television. The Pirates, winners of the first three games of the series, were trailing, 4-2. They had runners on first and second with two outs. Pedro Alvarez was getting ready for a 2-1 pitch from Jairo Diaz, and LaFomboise tossed out a quick prediction that suddenly made him look like a seer.
"Bobby said, 'I think he's going to hit a home run right here,'" Locke said, "and then, 'Whap,' next pitch, it was gone." Alvarez's homer, his 26th of the season, set up Pittsburgh's sixth victory in a row and its first four-game sweep on the road since the Bucs took four games from the Cardinals in St. Louis from July 3-6, 1997.
The Rockies promoted Diaz from Triple-A Albuquerque on Aug. 23 and are giving him a long look as their setup man in the eighth. He has hit 100 mph with his fastball and pairs that pitch with an 89- to 90-mph slider.
• Weiss stands by test for Diaz in pivotal spot
That scouting report ran through Alvarez's mind as he waited for what was bound to be power offering.
"He's a guy that has a very good fastball and a good slider," Alvarez said. "If you're not ready with him, he can eat you up pretty easily."
Alvarez was certainly ready. He drove a 97-mph fastball into the Rockies' bullpen in right-center. Statcast™ projected the homer -- hit 115 mph off Alvarez's bat -- to land 421 feet from the plate. It brought joy and disbelief to Locke and LaFromboise in the training room.
"The TV camera couldn't get to it," Locke said. "It was probably one of the quickest balls I've seen leave any ballpark. You can tell lots of times by the outfielder's reactions. There wasn't a whole lot of movement out there [by right fielder Carlos Gonzalez].
"I know it wasn't in the third deck, but he didn't have a whole lot of time to get out there."
Diaz said he was trying to go away with that fastball but missed over the middle of the plate. Alvarez's homer gave the Pirates their 42nd comeback win of the season and improved their record in one-run games to 35-17, including 14-10 on the road. This latest victory put the Pirates 33 games above .500 (93-60) and came one day after the club clinched a trip to the postseason for a third straight season.
"Even if the division was won already, hypothetically speaking, this is a team that would go out there and give it all, every pitch, every at-bat, every inning," Alvarez said. "It's kind of something that's embedded in our DNA and ingrained in the way we go about [our] business. To us, it doesn't matter the situation; we're going to go out there and compete."
The Pirates scored 33 runs in the series, and center fielder Andrew McCutchen didn't drive in any of them. Yet the Pirates swept the four-game series, something Alvarez said the close-knit Pirates discussed.
"Chemistry's one of those intangibles you can't put a stat on, you can't put a sabermetric on," Alvarez said. "We feel for each other. When someone's not going well, it's like I'm not doing well. When you're that invested in one another, things end up working out."
</section>
<figcaption class="meta-data video" style="margin: 0px; padding: 15px 170px 15px 20px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; position: absolute; bottom: 0px; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 54px; box-sizing: border-box; width: 926px; background: url(http://ui.bamstatic.com/mlbv2/sections/news2/images/caption-bg.png) 0px 0px repeat;">Must C: Alvarez's clutch tater1:149/24/15: Pedro Alvarez delivers a clutch three-run homer with two outs in the 8th inning to put the Pirates ahead of the Rockies, 5-4
0 COMMENTS</button>
[/FONT]
DENVER -- Jeff Locke was sitting in the Pirates' training room with Bobby LaFromboise. Locke's start during Thursday afternoon's 5-4 win over the Rockies had ended in the sixth when LaFromboise relieved him, retiring the one batter he faced and stranding Locke's two baserunners.
Now it was the eighth, and Locke and LaFromboise were watching the game on television. The Pirates, winners of the first three games of the series, were trailing, 4-2. They had runners on first and second with two outs. Pedro Alvarez was getting ready for a 2-1 pitch from Jairo Diaz, and LaFomboise tossed out a quick prediction that suddenly made him look like a seer.
"Bobby said, 'I think he's going to hit a home run right here,'" Locke said, "and then, 'Whap,' next pitch, it was gone." Alvarez's homer, his 26th of the season, set up Pittsburgh's sixth victory in a row and its first four-game sweep on the road since the Bucs took four games from the Cardinals in St. Louis from July 3-6, 1997.
The Rockies promoted Diaz from Triple-A Albuquerque on Aug. 23 and are giving him a long look as their setup man in the eighth. He has hit 100 mph with his fastball and pairs that pitch with an 89- to 90-mph slider.
• Weiss stands by test for Diaz in pivotal spot
That scouting report ran through Alvarez's mind as he waited for what was bound to be power offering.
"He's a guy that has a very good fastball and a good slider," Alvarez said. "If you're not ready with him, he can eat you up pretty easily."
Alvarez was certainly ready. He drove a 97-mph fastball into the Rockies' bullpen in right-center. Statcast™ projected the homer -- hit 115 mph off Alvarez's bat -- to land 421 feet from the plate. It brought joy and disbelief to Locke and LaFromboise in the training room.
"The TV camera couldn't get to it," Locke said. "It was probably one of the quickest balls I've seen leave any ballpark. You can tell lots of times by the outfielder's reactions. There wasn't a whole lot of movement out there [by right fielder Carlos Gonzalez].
"I know it wasn't in the third deck, but he didn't have a whole lot of time to get out there."
Diaz said he was trying to go away with that fastball but missed over the middle of the plate. Alvarez's homer gave the Pirates their 42nd comeback win of the season and improved their record in one-run games to 35-17, including 14-10 on the road. This latest victory put the Pirates 33 games above .500 (93-60) and came one day after the club clinched a trip to the postseason for a third straight season.
"Even if the division was won already, hypothetically speaking, this is a team that would go out there and give it all, every pitch, every at-bat, every inning," Alvarez said. "It's kind of something that's embedded in our DNA and ingrained in the way we go about [our] business. To us, it doesn't matter the situation; we're going to go out there and compete."
The Pirates scored 33 runs in the series, and center fielder Andrew McCutchen didn't drive in any of them. Yet the Pirates swept the four-game series, something Alvarez said the close-knit Pirates discussed.
"Chemistry's one of those intangibles you can't put a stat on, you can't put a sabermetric on," Alvarez said. "We feel for each other. When someone's not going well, it's like I'm not doing well. When you're that invested in one another, things end up working out."
</section>
| Central | W | L | PCT | GB | E# | WCGB | L10 | STRK | HOME | ROAD | LAST GAME | NEXT GAME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-St. Louis | 97 | 56 | .634 | - | - | - | 8-2 | W5 | 54-24 | 43-32 | 9/24 vs MIL, W 7-3 | 9/25 vs MIL, 8:15 PM |
| x-Pittsburgh | 93 | 60 | .608 | 4.0 | 6 | +3.5 | 6-4 | W6 | 50-25 | 43-35 | 9/24 @ COL, W 5-4 | 9/25 @ CHC, 2:20 PM |
| Chi Cubs | 89 | 63 | .586 | 7.5 | 3 | - | 7-3 | L1 | 47-30 | 42-33 | 9/23 vs MIL, L 1-4 | 9/25 vs PIT, 2:20 PM |
| Milwaukee | 64 | 89 | .418 | 33.0 | E | 25.5 | 2-8 | L1 | 34-44 | 30-45 | 9/24 @ STL, L 3-7 | 9/25 @ STL, 8:15 PM |
| Cincinnati | 63 | 89 | .414 | 33.5 | E | 26.0 | 3-7 | L5 | 34-41 | 29-48 | 9/24 vs NYM, L 4-6 | 9/25 vs NYM, 7:10 PM |
<colgroup><col class="dg-team_short" style="width: 180px !important;"><col class="dg-w" style="width: 35px !important;"><col class="dg-l" style="width: 35px !important;"><col class="dg-pct" style="width: 35px !important;"><col class="dg-gb" style="width: 35px !important;"><col class="dg-elim" style="width: 30px;"><col class="dg-gb_wildcard" style="width: 50px !important;"><col class="dg-last_ten"><col class="dg-streak"><col class="dg-home"><col class="dg-away"><col class="dg-last_game"><col class="dg-next_game"></colgroup><thead style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background: rgb(241, 241, 241);">
</thead><tbody tabindex="-1">
</tbody>
| CENTRAL | W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | RS | RA | DIFF | STRK | L10 | POFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z -St. Louis Cardinals | 97 | 57 | .630 | - | 54-25 | 43-32 | 622 | 495 | +127 | L1 | 7-3 | 100.0% |
| z -Pittsburgh Pirates | 94 | 60 | .610 | 3 | 50-25 | 44-35 | 673 | 569 | +104 | W7 | 7-3 | 100.0% |
| z -Chicago Cubs | 89 | 64 | .582 | 7.5 | 47-31 | 42-33 | 655 | 595 | +60 | L2 | 7-3 | 100.0% |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 65 | 89 | .422 | 32 | 34-44 | 31-45 | 634 | 712 | -78 | W1 | 3-7 | 0.0% |
| Cincinnati Reds | 63 | 90 | .412 | 33.5 | 34-42 | 29-48 | 622 | 701 | -79 | L6 | 3-7 | 0.0% |
<thead class="standings-categories" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
</thead><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;">
</tbody>
