Yes, you read that headline right.
It's possible that the Cincinnati Reds could play the St. Louis Cardinals 8 times in a row. Furthermore, the first five times would all be on the road, at Busch Stadium.
The Reds have locked up their spot in the playoffs, and currently are tied for the top seed in the National League. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have almost locked up their berth in the playoffs as the second wild-card team - they hold a 4.5 game lead with 8 games left.
If the current standings hold true, the Cardinals and Braves will play a one-game playoff series as part of the new expanded MLB postseason format. The winner of that game advances to take on the #1 seed.
The Reds travel to Busch Stadium in October for the final regular-season 3-game series.
If the Reds take the #1 seed, and the Cardinals beat the Braves in that one-game Wild Card playoff, Cincinnati would travel back to St. Louis for the first two games of the National League Division Series. The rest of the NLDS would take place in Cincinnati.
It's not that big of a stretch for Cincinnati to see a potential 8 straight games against St. Louis.
Something to add to this scenario - the Reds and Nationals are tied for the #1 seed at this moment. The Nationals hold the tiebreaker by taking the season series 5 games to 2. In order to take the top seed, Cincinnati must have a better record than Washington…and the Nats play St. Louis over the weekend.
Would it be in the Reds' best interests to see St. Louis beat Washington?
The moral of the story is….the playoff spot may be wrapped up, but there's still a LOT more intrigue left to be decided.
- Jeff Seemann
