The Pittsburgh Pirates picked up an important 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, moving one game ahead of the their NL Central rival in the Wild Card Standings. The St. Louis Cardinals maintained their lead over both teams with a comfortable 7-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
NL playoff standings: Pirates regain lead over Reds
The Cardinals only need to win one more game to clinch a postseason berth.
David Maxwell
A.J. Burnett turned in a dominant performance, holding the Reds to two runs on four hits over seven innings. The right-hander struck out 12, notching his 200th strikeout of the season against Joey Votto. Russell Martin put Pittsburgh on the scoreboard with a two-run homer, while Jose Tabata led the Pirates with a pair of hits.
Matt Adams put the Cardinals in the run column first with a two-run homer, and St. Louis blew the game open with a five-run eighth. Lance Lynn earned his 14th victory of the season, only allowing one run on four hits over 6⅔ innings. The Cardinals can clinch a post-season berth on Sunday with a win over Milwaukee.
Here are the updated NL Central and NL Wild Card standings:
NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 91 | 64 | .587 | 0 | Won 2 |
| Pittsburgh | 89 | 66 | .574 | 2 | Won 1 |
| Cincinnati | 88 | 67 | .568 | 3 | Lost 1 |
National League Wild Card Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 89 | 66 | .574 | +1 | Won 1 |
| Cincinnati | 88 | 67 | .574 | 0 | Lost 1 |
| Washington | 83 | 71 | .538 | 5 | Won 2 |
See More:
