National League Central and Wild Card coming into focus

May 11, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams (32) reacts after Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer (10) hit into a double play with the bases loaded to end the game during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Cardinals won 6-5. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

St. Louis Cardinals (70-59) v Pittsburgh Pirates (67-63)

Why the series is important to the Cardinals: St. Louis currently holds a good grasp of second place in the NL Central and trail the Milwaukee Brewers by only a game and a half. They are also the #1 NL Wild Card. No one wants to play that do or die, one game winner-take-all Wild Card, so the Cardinals look to chip more off the Brewers’ division lead.

Why the series is important to the Pirates: Imagine if Pittsburgh could make the postseason in back-to-back years. You thought the town went bonkers last year. If the Buccos can pull off the feat, it would be the first time since 1991-92 that Pittsburgh appeared in the playoffs in consecutive years.

Add 1990 to that, too, as the Jim Leyland era in Pittsburgh had some success.

They also managed to knock a full game off their deficit within the division. They sit five games behind Milwaukee.

Pitching matchups:

Mon: John Lackey (w/STL: 1-1, 5.40, 1.400; overall: 12-8, 3.88, 1.257) v Francisco Liriano (3-10, 4.18, 1.352)
Tues: Lance Lynn (14-8, 2.78, 1.273) v Gerrit Cole (7-4, 3.69, 1.306)
Wed: Adam Wainwright (15-8, 2.52, 1.044) v Jeff Locke (5-3, 3.69, 1.229)

Season series to date: STL leads, 7-6. They haven’t faced each other since mid-July when the Pirates visited St. Louis. In that series, the Cards walked-off in the first tow games of the four-game set. They also won a third game, claiming the series victory.

The two will meet in short order as Labor Day represents the start of a three-game series in St. Louis. That will also be the last time they will see one another during the regular season.