Are the St. Louis Cardinals Primed to Make the Playoffs?
The St. Louis Cardinals at one point were heading into dangerous territory before the MLB All-Star Break. With one game before the All-Star Break, they decided to fire manager Mike Matheny. Bench coach Mike Shildt became the interim manager and they have played well ever since.
The St. Louis Cardinals are 9-1 in their last 10 games and they are just one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the second wild-card spot in the National League with a 65-55 record. St. Louis is two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for second place in the division and they are four games behind the Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central.
Because of the St. Louis Cardinals hot stretch, are they primed to make it to the postseason? There is only 42 games remaining in the regular season. After their four-game set with the Washington Nationals at home, the St. Louis Cardinals have three consecutive monstrous series.
The first one is a three-game set at home against the Milwaukee Brewers. Then they play a three-game set on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies.
The Cardinals also have a four-game set at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a three-game set on the road against the Atlanta Braves, and a three-game set at home against the San Francisco Giants in the month of September.
The St. Louis Cardinals will then face the Milwaukee Brewers at home for a three-game set and the Chicago Cubs for a three-game set on the road for the final six games of the regular season.
With the way the Cardinals are playing, they can control their own destiny and winning the division isn't out of the question. St. Louis hasn't reached the playoffs since the 2015 season.
A couple of players like Yadier Molina, Marcell Ozuna, Chris Carpenter, and Jose Martinez is one of the reasons why the Cardinals have been playing well. Molina's batting average is .288 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI's, along with four stolen bases. His on-base percentage is .333.
Ozuna's batting average is .273 with 13 home runs and 63 RBI's, along with two stolen bases. His on-base percentage is .316.
Carpenter is on a hot streak right now for the St. Louis Cardinals. His batting average is .277 with 33 home runs and 68 RBI's, along with one stolen base. Carpenter's on-base percentage is .349.
Martinez's batting average is .305 with 14 home runs and 69 RBI's. His on-base percentage is .369.
Miles Mikolas has been the Cardinals best starting pitcher in 2018. His record is 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA. In 151.1 innings pitched, he has given up 133 hits and 52 runs. Mikolas has walked 26 batters and has struck out 102.
Michael Wachas's record is 8-2 with a 3.20 ERA. In 84.1 innings pitched, he has given up 68 hits and 36 runs. Wacha has walked 36 batters and has struck out 71.
Bud Norris is the team's closer. His record is 3-3 with a 3.21 ERA. In 47.2 innings pitched, he has given up 42 hits and 19 runs. Norris has walked 10 batters and has struck out 59.
If the Cardinals continue to play well, they could very well make the playoffs but it is a tight race in the National League right now between eight teams for five playoff spots.