No more need for Cardinals to watch the scoreboards. Win and the NL Central is theirs.
After a 8-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night, which could have sapped the life from the St. Louis Cardinals, the roar which came from Busch Stadium’s Cardinal Club signified yet another twist in a story whose ending is yet to be written.
In this case, it was the Colorado Rockies making a vital contribution from their shortstop, Trevor Story.
His walk-off home run against the Milwaukee Brewers kept the Brewers a full game behind the Cardinals in the race for the National League Central. Sunday marks the season’s 162nd and final scheduled regular season game. For the first time this season, there are no more scoreboards to watch. Win, and a 10th National League Central Division Champion flag will fly at Busch Stadium.
“Biggest game of the year tomorrow,” said catcher Yadier Molina, a smile playing across his face. “We’re not playing, not pitching the way we want to right now, but everything’s in the past and we have to get some rest tonight and come tomorrow ready to go.”
Molina attempted to spark his team with a heated exchange with Chicago starter Cole Hamels in Saturday’s second inning. After a hit by pitch which seemed to graze Molina’s arm, he and Hamels exchanged words. Both benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown, and no ejections were issued.
Nor did it provide the jolt intended.
Adam Wainwright struggled through 4 1/3 rocky innings, allowing four home runs and leaving the team in a 6-0 hole. Wainwright, nearing the end of an illustrious career and at the end of his one-year contract, was emphatic that there’s more baseball left for him to play this fall.
“That’s not my last start, but that doesn’t make it any easier for me,” Wainwright said. “It really ticks me off, actually. I just hate not coming through for the team. Everybody believed in me to go out there and deliver a good game and I didn’t do it. No excuses.”
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt re-aligned his rotation heading into the weekend in order to maximize his options for Sunday’s season finale. Ultimately, he settled on right-hander Jack Flaherty, whose second-half dominance left Shildt with the simplest possible explanation for his decision – “Jack’s our guy.”
Sunday’s game marks the third consecutive season in which the Cardinals have tapped Flaherty as their starter for the regular season’s last scheduled game.
Two years ago, Flaherty was a rising prospect seeking to leave a good impression. Last year, he was mopping up for a team staggering to the finish line after a race not completed. On Sunday, he has a chance to place an indelible mark on the conclusion of one of the most dramatic races in franchise history.
“We got the right guy on the mound tomorrow,” Molina said. “Jack has been amazing for us.”
For all of the history which envelops every inch of Busch Stadium, many of these Cardinals have yet to make their postseason debut. Outfielder Harrison Bader said that he “felt like it was going to kind of come down to this.”
“We’ve played 161 games,” Bader said. “I’m pretty sure we can just handle this one tomorrow.”
In his five years with the Miami Marlins, outfielder Marcell Ozuna never reached the postseason. This year he’ll have a chance to make his playoff debut, but the division title is a step up from even that impressive accomplishment.
“It’s gonna be amazing,” Ozuna said. “I’ve never been there. I want to feel that and we’re close. We just have to come here tomorrow and be ready and ready to win.”
For much of the last three seasons, the Cardinals have been playing from behind. Their position in various playoff races has been that of a stalker, just behind the leader of the horse race, looking for the right moment to strike. When asked to give more, previous versions of this team have sputtered. Now, with one game to play, they’re running free, and that control makes a crucial difference.
“It’s unbelievable,” Molina said with a laugh. “It’s great. We got the control right now. We win and we win the division. That’s what we want. The whole season long and we got the control. We have to come tomorrow and try to do it. That’s it. We gotta do it.”
“We demonstrate why we’re in control of our destiny because this team’s gonna compete regardless of circumstance,” Shildt emphasized, returning to one of his favorite themes about his charges. “We saw it again tonight. No one’s gonna ever question this ball club’s heart, and we’ll put it out there tomorrow.”
The Cardinals have space in the race, and so they have air. This chapter of their story will be completed tomorrow, and the next begins in the postseason, wherever that destination may be.
Shildt, speaking of Wainwright’s legacy of accomplishments, said that he “can’t paint a story that’s not close to being done.” For that to be true, the Cardinals will have to be the first team to cross an elusive wire.
“Just put yourself in a situation like we have tomorrow where all we have to do is win and don’t have to worry about anybody else,” Wainwright said. “That’s a great spot to be in.”