With the Cubs and Cardinals playing in St. Louis for the first time in 600 days, and with those two old rivals fighting near the top of the NL Central standings, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the weekend series had a big “August/September” vibe. The Cubs put it to the Cardinals late on Friday, but then the Saturday and Sunday night games were both tight, tense, late-decided affairs. If you wanted that rivalry and intensity, you definitely got it.
That’s a series win for the Cubs, who sit 2.0 games back of the Cardinals, and very much able to depart St. Louis with a feeling that they are still a divisional contender. These are both flawed teams, but they are also both teams that can flash really, really good phases of the game. I don’t think anyone will be betting on (1) a Wild Card team to come from the Central, or (2) a Central team to make a deep postseason run, necessarily, but these aren’t bad teams. It was great to see them duking it out.
It was even better to see the Cubs come out on top. Since the team’s matched up in the NLDS in 2015, the Cubs are 52-41 against the Cardinals (.559).
If you missed any of last night’s game, or just want to enjoy the highlights again, give yourself a good morning: