ST. LOUIS -- If the Cardinals had not preceded their three-game losing streak with a nine-out-of-10 winning run, their upcoming homestand would feel a little more pressured.
But holding a 2 1/2-game lead in the NL Central with 15 games left is a comfortable place to be in, especially when nine of those games are scheduled for Busch Stadium and only three games remain against a winning team. If the Cardinals close 8-7, the Pirates would need a 12-4 finish to take the NL Central crown outright. Doable, yes; likely, no.
Mike Matheny surely isn't taking such a comfortable view of the final 16 days, but you also can be certain the Cardinals' manager has an eye on October. While he's not about to make any announcements before he needs to, you can figure he's pondering the makeup of his roster for a postseason run.
So much has lined up nicely for the Cardinals that their roster decisions make for the kinds of problems teams like to have. Choosing seven relievers from a crew that goes about 12 deep is not a bad position to be working from.
The return of Yadier Molina and Michael Wacha, the sustained excellence of Lance Lynn, the improved performance of Oscar Taveras and Peter Bourjos, and the impressive showing of Randal Grichuk have complicated the brain trust's decisions, but more in a way that they can't be that wrong.
Here's a look at some key decisions the club hopes it has to make in a couple of weeks.
THE ROTATION
Only four starters are needed for the postseason and the Cardinals have five legitimate candidates, which means someone will be disappointed. Shelby Miller has been pitching like he darn doesn't want that to be him again.
Adam Wainwright and Lance Lynn are automatics, and John Lackey would really have to struggle in his final three starts to be left out. Lackey is on turn to start twice on the homestand, against the Brewers on Tuesday and the Reds in the home finale.
That leaves Wacha and -- sorry, Shelby -- Miller vying for the final spot. Wacha looked great in his first start, not so great in his second. The hope is that he would progress each time out and by the playoffs, would have regained his early-season 2014 and late-season 2013 form. His two starts on the homestand will go a long way in determining whether he starts or relieves in October. After throwing 70 pitches Tuesday, Wacha should be in position to treat his Sunday start against the Rockies as a regular outing.
THE GAME 1 STARTER
Wainwright remains the odds-on favorite to start any Game 1 if the Cardinals clinch early enough to give them ample time to set their rotation. Lynn, however, still deserves consideration after his splendid second half.
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Besides his status as staff ace, Wainwright also owns an ERA edge over Lynn against all of the Cardinals' most likely October opponents except the Nationals. Wainwright hasn't exactly struggled against Washington, either, with a 1.11 ERA in three starts to Lynn's 0.66 in two.
THE BULLPEN
We know who's for sure: Trevor Rosenthal, Pat Neshek, Carlos Martinez and Seth Maness.
That leaves a bunch of guys gunning for the other three spots, unless the club surprises and puts 13 pitchers on the roster.
Two of the other openings likely would be filled by lefties, and there's no fewer than six who warrant consideration: Sam Freeman, Kevin Siegrist, Randy Choate, Nick Greenwood, Marco Gonzales and Tyler Lyons.
Freeman has been the most consistent of the group since he arrived to stay in late May and would seem to be first in line. Well, at least he did until Kevin Siegrist touched 98 mph his last time out. If Siegrist indeed has regained his 2013 form -- yes, two batters is a small sample size -- leaving him off would not be wise. While Freeman has outperformed Choate, Choate owns an edge in experience. Gonzales, Lyons and Greenwood are long shots, but they still have a couple of weeks to change some minds.
If the final spot were to go to the fifth starter, as you would expect, no room would be left for either Jason Motte or Justin Masterson. While leaving off Motte would be difficult, he has yet to prove he's all the way back from last year's Tommy John surgery.
Matchups will play a part in the composition of the bullpen, too. An extra lefty, for example, could be useful in a series against the Nationals.
THE BENCH
Of the five spots, at least three already have been secured by the experienced and versatile Daniel Descalso, backup catcher A.J. Pierzynski and Bourjos, the team's fourth outfielder.
Grichuk has shown enough in his latest call-up to just about wrap up another spot, though he still has time to play his way off.
Though Mark Ellis hasn't produced much, he still rates an edge over Tony Cruz and Pete Kozma for the 25th spot. Ellis is a more proven hitter than Kozma, and Cruz really hasn't been given much of a chance to show if he can pinch-hit. Both Kozma and Cruz likely would stick around the club to provide injury insurance.
Of course, plenty could change over these final 15 games. But at this point, the only real surprise would be if the Cardinals aren't dealing with postseason decisions at the end of the month.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
