National League Central drama heightens as baseball season comes to a close

By Eamon Walsh ‘20

In sports, everyone loves an underdog story, and in the Major League Playoffs, wildcard teams, squads who don’t win their division but are still good enough for the postseason, are the ultimate underdogs. 

The Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, all Central division rivals, are in contention for the two wildcard spots. 

At the moment, the Cardinals hold the lead in the Central, guaranteeing them a spot, which means the Cubs and Brewers would need a wildcard bid to make it to the postseason.

Senior and die-hard Cubs fan Ezra Rich shared that his team’s chances aren’t bad. 

“To be honest, their relievers have to start pitching, which is something that hasn’t happened all season,” he said.

“[Nicholas] Castellanos has to keep hitting well,” he continued. “[Wilson] Contreras has been hitting really well, but missing [Anthony] Rizzo and [Javier] Baez has been painful.”

Since he came over on the July 31 trade deadline from the Tigers, Castellanos has hit .335 with 16 home runs and 36 RBI’s.

Jack Flaherty takes the mound for the Cardinals

Image Courtesy of Charles Edward Miller

As for the Cardinals, who have seven of their last 10 games against the Cubs, senior Libby Rouffy is hopeful.

“I feel like even if they don’t win the division, they’ll get a wildcard. Plus, they’re ahead of the Cubs [and Brewers] right now,” she said.

As for the Cardinals’ impact player, Rouffy feels that it has to be starting pitcher Jack Flaherty. So far this season, Flaherty is 10-8 with a 2.96 ERA, but that doesn’t begin to show his value. 

Since the All-Star break, Flaherty is 9-5 with a 0.97 ERA, 118 strikeouts, 22 walks, and a .146 batting average against. With these gawdy stats, Flaherty, who is only in his second year in the Majors, figures to be a major contributor to any Cardinals postseason run.