St. Louis' win over the LA Dodgers (74-70) on Thursday was vital for their Wild Card hopes in the NL, and they would do well to continue those winning ways over the next three days as well. The win pushed the Wild Card lead for the Cardinals (76-68) to two games.
The Cardinals had been in a bit of a slump before meeting LA on Thursday, having lost 10 of 15 games at one point as they fell prey to the Padres. A sweep of the series over the Dodgers could be a game-changer though, it would put them five games ahead in the Wild Card race with only 15 games left to play on their schedule.
Pittsburgh will be rooting for a tie in the series -- the Pirates (72-70) are the team closest to usurping either the Cards or Dodgers from the second Wild Card spot.
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