For the first time since July 20, the St. Louis Cardinals have ownership of first place in the NL Central, and for the first time all year, it's sole custody. The Cardinals were as far back at 6½ games back as recently as July 1, but have erased that deficit to take a one-game lead by virtue of their win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Brewers loss to the Cubs.
Cardinals pass Brewers as Milwaukee’s slide continues
#CardinalsDevilMagic is the only explanation for the above, but how have they secure the division lead?
Dilip Vishwanat
While the Brewers have spent the past 159 days with at least part of a claim to first place in the central, their loss to a rebuilding Cubs team is more emblematic of why they’re no longer atop the division than anything St. Louis has done. The Cardinals have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games, which was enough to gain a game and a half on the hapless Brewers. Milwaukee’s slide truly took place in July, as they finished the month seven games under .500, but improved to 13-14 in the month of August. The Cardinals, on the other hand, have benefited from some good luck; they’ve gone a combined 29-24 in July/August, despite a -25 run differential.
The Brewers' troubles have been two-fold of late. The team compiled a 5.64 ERA over the last 14 days, which balloons to 7.34 ERA in the last seven. It's a small sample size, of course, but with Jimmy Nelson merely being OK, Milwaukee has missed Matt Garza more than anticipated. Throw in the anemic offense that has hit .187/.244/.277 over the last week and it's no wonder that even the Cardinals' pedestrian stats have been enough to wrestle control of the division from Milwaukee.
The upshot for the Brew Crew is that Garza is about to return, and they acquired Jonathan Broxton from division rival Cincinnati. For St. Louis, September's expanded roster gives the team the opportunity to reach into its deep farm system and provide manager Mike Matheny with as much talent as he can handle. Both teams need to improve their play if they expect to finish first; the Cardinals have a negative run differential on the year and can't expect Milwaukee to continue playing this poorly. One would have to give St. Louis the edge when it comes to experience down the stretch, which could make all the difference in terms of not pressing too much.
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