Cards clinch NL Central, eye another ring for vets
MILWAUKEE — The St. Louis Cardinals finally separated themselves from the Milwaukee Brewers in early August after chasing them for much of the season.
They haven’t looked back since, turning what had been a nip and tuck NL Central race into something of a runaway.
MVP contender Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs as the Cardinals clinched the division title Tuesday night by beating the Brewers 6-2 behind six strong innings from Miles Mikolas.
“With the guys that we have and the veteran leadership, we knew that as soon as we smelled some blood right there and we took that lead, we knew we could run away with it,” Mikolas said.
Andrew Knizner hit a two-run homer to break out of an 0-for-22 slump as St. Louis sealed its first division crown since 2019 and fourth straight playoff berth by defeating the team that won the NL Central last year. This marks the third straight year the Cardinals have wrapped up a postseason spot with a victory over the Brewers.
The Cardinals (90-65) guaranteed themselves at least a tie with second-place Milwaukee (82-72), and now they own the tiebreaker because the victory Tuesday gave St. Louis an insurmountable 10-8 lead in the season series.
St. Louis held a rather low-key celebration on the Brewers’ home field after the final out, reacting not much differently than if they’d just won an ordinary game at midseason. The party didn’t start until the Cardinals got into the locker room and started popping champagne.
“This is just one step, guys,” Albert Pujols told his teammates at the start of the celebration. “Just remember this moment. This is what we want to do deep in October and hopefully win the championship and bring it to the city of St. Louis.”
The Brewers remain 1½ games behind Philadelphia for the final NL wild card. The Phillies won the season series with Milwaukee and would get the playoff bid if the teams end up tied.
St. Louis trailed Milwaukee in the NL Central standings for much of the season and was four games back on the morning of July 31. The Cardinals are 37-17 and the Brewers 25-28 since.
“We just didn’t really play well enough all season to deserve winning the division,” Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich said. “You get what you deserve in sports a lot, and we just, for whatever reason, weren’t able to put it all together. Not saying we don’t still have a shot. We still have a shot at a wild card.”
Tuesday’s clincher didn’t feature much suspense, as St. Louis scored the first six runs to delight the large contingent of Cardinals fans at American Family Field.
Mikolas (12-13) struck out nine and allowed only four hits and one walk. The Brewers’ lone run off him came in the sixth when Rowdy Tellez hit his 34th homer.
Milwaukee trailed 2-0 when starter Adrian Houser (6-10) left due to a strained right groin with one out in the fourth. Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Houser likely will go on the injured list.
The Cardinals grabbed sole possession of first place on Aug. 6 and have been there ever since as part of an exciting season that has included Pujols hitting his 700th career homer, Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado making MVP arguments and Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina becoming the most prolific battery in MLB history.
“Extremely magical when you really think about it,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “What’s more important about all of it is you’ve got MVP candidates on our corners, you’ve got Yadi and Waino chasing 325 [starts together], you’ve got 700 from Albert, and they never made it about themselves. They always pointed toward winning and taking a step toward a championship. That tells you a lot about the character and the culture of this club.”
Molina and Pujols already have announced this is their final season. Now that the Cardinals have earned a division title, they want to keep on winning to make sure those veterans go out in style.
“We want them to leave baseball with one more ring, for sure,” Mikolas said.
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson experienced his first crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, the second day that Indianapolis 500 drivers participated in open testing on the 2.5-mile oval.
The 2021 NASCAR champion spun coming out of the first turn, hit the wall and bounced down to the warmup lane before tapping the wall a second time and eventually rolling to a stop.
Larson blamed himself, saying he forgot to hit the weight jacker going into the turn. But he also tried to find some positive from the incident.
“I’m happy to crash my first Indy car and live through it,” Larson said.
IN THE WALL 😬@KyleLarsonRacin makes contact with the wall exiting Turn 1 and in Turn 2.
📺: INDYCAR YouTube pic.twitter.com/5TE5c1BXDs
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 24, 2025
An Arrow McLaren official told The Indianapolis Star that Larson will not take part in the Thursday afternoon practice session due to the crash damage. The team decided not to rush the repairs, which would have left minimal practice time at best, the official said.
Larson is attempting to complete “the double” by racing in both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. His first attempt was thwarted by a rain delay in the 2024 Indy 500 that saw him arrive to the NASCAR race just as that race was called off for weather.
He wasn’t the only familiar name to crash Thursday. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato crashed shortly after Larson, losing the back end of his car in the first turn and smacking the wall hard in the short chute before rolling to a stop.
“Lost it,” Sato said. “I simply lost it.”
Both drivers were checked at the infield hospital and released.
Graham Rahal also tapped the wall late in Wednesday’s practice.
Series officials added horsepower to the cars for the Thursday morning session as they test the IndyCar hybrid, which makes its IMS debut next month. An afternoon session without the boost closes out the two-day test.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-
Jesse Rogers
CHICAGO — Los Angeles Dodgers starter Blake Snell will back off his throwing program as he continues to recover from left shoulder inflammation, according to manager Dave Roberts.
“As he was playing catch, he just didn’t feel great,” Roberts said Wednesday afternoon before the Dodgers played the Chicago Cubs. “Right now, we’re going to slow play the throwing. Will probably get it looked at again when we get back home.”
Snell, 32, has been on the injured list since early April after making just two starts for the Dodgers. He signed a five-year, $182 million contract this past offseason.
Snell, who was set to throw a bullpen session Wednesday, felt discomfort in the shoulder while playing catch Tuesday. Roberts was asked how concerning the latest setback was.
“I wouldn’t say concerning because part of the messaging from us to Blake is, it’s about later on in the season and if there’s any type of discomfort, let’s not try to fight through it,” Roberts responded.
Snell is one of several Dodgers pitchers on the mend, including left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who pitched three innings in a minor league start Tuesday, his second rehab outing this spring.
“Velocity was good,” Roberts said. “Got into the fourth inning. He’ll make a start next week. Really positive stuff.”
The Dodgers also received positive news about right-hander Tyler Glasnow after he left his last start with leg cramps. His latest bullpen session went well, according to Roberts.
Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani is throwing again after missing time on the paternity list. He’ll have another bullpen session Saturday as he recovers from elbow surgery, though the team still doesn’t have a timetable for his return to major league action.
The team was also without catcher Will Smith on Wednesday after he injured his wrist on a play at the plate in Tuesday’s loss to the Cubs.
“As he made the tag, his [left] wrist turned in and so there’s some residual soreness,” Roberts said.
Smith could get imaging done when the team returns to Los Angeles, but Roberts wasn’t overly concerned about the injury.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway