As Adam Wainwright made history for the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night, winning his 200th career game, he helped his team avoid elimination for the 2023 postseason.
St. Louis Cardinals: What is their elimination number for the 2023 postseason?
With the win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals are now 67-83 on the season. However, the Cardinals are still barely alive for the postseason, currently 11.0 games out of the National League Wild Card. Their elimination number stands at one, meaning one more loss by the Cardinals (or a win by one of the teams currently in possession of a Wild Card spot) would officially put an end to what has been a disappointing campaign.
If and when St. Louis is eliminated (barring a miraculous run and set of circumstances), the Cardinals will become the third NL team to officially have their October plans canceled, joining the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals. It’s the culmination of a season where little has gone right for the Redbirds, but at least Wainwright was able to put together back-to-back outings where he earned a victory, helping the 42-year-old right-hander cement his place in MLB history.
St. Louis will continue its series at home against the Brewers on Tuesday night, and can only hope to play spoiler the rest of the way. Milwaukee, however, enters Tuesday night 6.0 games ahead of the fading Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Chicago has lost five consecutive games and is 2-8 over its last 10 outings. The Cardinals, however, finish the season against the Cincinnati Reds with a three-game set in St. Louis. The Reds are also fighting for a Wild Card spot, currently tied with the Cubs for the final postseason slot (with Chicago owning the tiebreaker).
The Cardinals also have a return trip to Milwaukee for a three-game set next week before returning home to face Cincinnati.