ST. LOUIS — It's been a roller coaster of a season for the St. Louis Cardinals, but October baseball is still a possibility as the team begins the final week of the regular season.
With the season winding down to just a handful of games, the Cardinals are right in the thick of the postseason race.
Here's the latest breakdown of what the Cardinals need to do to play in the postseason.
At the beginning of play on Sunday, Sept. 27, the Cardinals have one game remaining on their schedule. That would get them to 58 games this season, two short of the 60-game schedule the league was counting on, because of the team's COVID-19 outbreak earlier in the year. The team could play two makeup games against the Tigers on Monday if the standings dictate they need to do so.
As of Sunday, the Cardinals hold a .509 winning percentage — which is how this year's playoff entrants will be determined — and are in second place in the NL Central. The top two teams in each division, plus two wild card teams make the playoffs in each league. As of Sept. 27, the Cardinals lead the Reds for second place in the division by one percentage point. The Reds already clinched a spot in the playoffs.
If the season ended before play began on Sunday, the Cardinals would have the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and would play the No. 4 seeded San Diego Padres.
According to MLB.com, the Cardinals' magic number sits at one on Saturday.
All the Cardinals need to do to get into the postseason is win their final game of the season against Milwaukee. Whoever wins the game between the Cardinals and Brewers on Sunday, clinches a playoff spot. If the Cardinals lose and the San Francisco Giants win, St. Louis will have to head to Detroit for those make up games.
The Cardinals won their season series against the Reds if it comes down to a tiebreaker, and are currently 4-5 in their season series with Milwaukee, with one game left
According to Baseball Reference as of Sept. 27, the Cardinals have a 65.4% chance of playing in the postseason.
This story will be updated as the Cardinals finish their last week of play.
