The surprising reason the St. Louis Cardinals' playoff streak could end
The St. Louis Cardinals suddenly are on the outside of the playoff picture after their loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.
And if their MLB-best streak of five consecutive postseason appearances indeed ends, they can blame their ineptitude at home.
With Thursday’s loss, the Cardinals are 30-38 at Busch Stadium this season. No other MLB playoff contender is under .500 at home, and their 38 home losses already are their most since 2007. There is a strong chance the Chicago Cubs could make the situation even more painful by clinching the NL Central in St. Louis early next week.
A few offensive stats: The Cardinals have a .759 OPS at home, an MLB-best .794 OPS on the road; score 4.41 runs per game at home, an MLB-best 5.45 runs on the road; have 87 home runs at home, an MLB-best 115 homers on the road.
The bad news: 13 of the Cardinals’ remaining 23 games are at home, including the final seven – when they likely will be jostling for wild-card position each day.
On the bright side, if the Cardinals advance past the NL Wild Card Game, they’d be assured of avoiding home-field “advantage” for as long as they remain alive in the postseason. And their 43 road wins are the most in the majors this season.
