The Cardinals finally parted ways with Milwaukee in early August after hounding him for much of the season.
They haven’t looked back since. What turned out to be a tight fight in the NL Central turned into a rather easy ride for St. Louis.
Paul Goldschmidt and the Cardinals clinched the division title Tuesday, beating the Brewers 6-2, thanks to six strong innings from Miles Mikolas.
“With the guys that we have and with our great veteran leaders, we knew as soon as we got that lead we’d stay with it,” Mikolas said.
Andrew Knizner hit a two-run homer and Goldschmidt added two RBIs for St. Louis, which clinched its first division crown since 2019 and sealed its fourth straight postseason berth by beating the team that won the NL Central last year.
It’s the third straight year the Cardinals have clinched a postseason berth with a win over the Brewers.
The Cardinals (90-65) are guaranteed to finish at least even with Milwaukee (82-72), which is second. And now, they have the edge in the tiebreaker, because Tuesday’s victory gave St. Louis an insurmountable 10-8 lead in the season series.
St. Louis celebrated rather quietly at the Brewers’ home after the final out. But the party started in the locker room, where the Cardinals popped the champagne.
“This is just one step, guys,” Dominican Albert Pujols told his teammates at the start of the celebration. “Just remember this moment. It’s what we want to do in October. Hopefully we win the championship to take it to the city of San Luis”.
The Brewers remain a game and a half behind Philadelphia in the hunt for the third and final wild-card spot in the NL. The Phillies won the season series over Milwaukee and will advance if both teams finish tied.
Mikolas (12-13) struck out nine and allowed just four hits, in addition to walking one.
The loss went to Adrian Houser (6-10).
For the Cardinals, Venezuelan Juan Yepez 1-1 with an RBI. Dominican Albert Pujols 3-0 with a run scored.
For the Brewers, Dominican Willy Adames 4-1. The Venezuelan Omar Narvaez 4-0.