Cardinals' playoff push hangs in balance during key series

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. LOUIS -- We can debate as to whether the Cardinals are still realistically in the playoff chase after arguably their most forgettable week of the season. Now, their efforts to climb back into contention hinge on a three-game series against the Brewers.

Following a three-game sweep by Reds and a series loss to the star-studded Dodgers at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals (61-63) trail the Brewers (72-52) by 11 games in the National League Central standings. The Cards have also fallen five games off the pace in the chase for the final NL Wild Card spot.

That’s a far cry from three weeks ago, when the Cardinals talked boldly of not just making the playoffs, but of doing so as division champions. The Redbirds especially liked their chances of earning a postseason berth when they traded for right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde and veteran slugger Tommy Pham to fortify their team at the Trade Deadline.

Then, unfortunately for the Cards, August happened. Almost simultaneously, their starting pitching crumbled, their usually reliable bullpen had some wobbles and a struggling lineup failed to produce much by way of long balls or extra-base hits. A team with a small margin for error early in the season and a winner of so many close games, the Cardinals seemed to have their run differential woes -- now at a minus-62 -- finally catch up to them.

If the Cardinals are going to pull off an improbable rally and dig themselves out of another hole, it’s going to have to start Tuesday night, when the Brewers roll into St. Louis for a three-game set. Six games remain between the two rivals this season (also Sept. 2-4), and quite frankly, the Cards are likely going to need a couple of sweeps to even cause Milwaukee to break a sweat.

“Important games, absolutely,” manager Oliver Marmol said after the Cards’ 2-1 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday. “You have to go in there one game at a time and take each and every one of them. That’s bottom line, that’s where we’re at and that’s the hole that we’ve dug.

“So they’re very important [games]. All you can do is focus on what leads to a win. For us, that’s playing clean baseball, pitching it well, our bullpen doing what they’ve done pretty much all year, and offensively, we’re going to have to really execute. That’s the focus. Pick your head up after the [three] games and see where you’re at.”

For what it’s worth, the Cardinals have been in this position previously this season, and they responded favorably. Entering May 12, St. Louis had a 15-24 record and was on a seven-game losing streak after dropping the first three games of a four-game series in Milwaukee. The Cardinals found a way to win the finale and proceeded to put together an NL-best mark of 32-18 over their next 50 games to get back into the hunt.

To get back in the race again, the Cards are going to have to pull off a similar rebound. It will take a level of consistency that they have yet to display over the first 124 games of this up-and-down season.

“We have to go on a run, plain and simple,” Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray said. “It feels like we need one of those eight-game win streaks. Maybe it’s coming.”