What a regular season it was for the St. Louis Cardinals.
For the first time in a decade, the Cardinals finish the regular season with 100 wins (they also finished 100-62 during the 2005 season). To close out the season, they played their third doubleheader of the season, this time against the Atlanta Braves.
The starters for the first game were John Lackey (13-9, 2.69 ERA) against former Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller (5-17, 3.15), who was traded this past offseason to the Braves which brought Jason Heyward to St. Louis.
Atlanta put their first runs on the board when Nick Markakis singled to score Michael Bourn to make it 1-0 Braves. Cameron Maybin later made it 2-0 in the first inning by singling home Markakis, which gave them the 2-0 lead.
Miller, who was on a winless drought since May, despite pitching at an impressive level, held the Cardinals in check all evening, as their main goal was to remain healthy with the playoffs starting in less than one week (they face the winner of the Pirates/Cubs wild card game).
Adonis Garcia hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to give the Braves a 3-0 lead. He would later hit another solo home run to make it 4-0. Andrelton Simmons hit a two-run home run to put the final runs on the board for Atlanta, as they were able to win the first game 6-0 over the Cardinals.
The starters for game two were Lance Lynn (12-10, 3.06 ERA) and Matt Wisler (7-8, 5.11).
Atlanta scored first when Garcia singled to center field, scoring Bourn to make it 1-0.
They added to the lead in the bottom of the seventh when Bourn scored Todd Cunningham, to give Atlanta a 2-0 lead. Wisler, meanwhile, pitched over eight innings of solid work, shutting down the Cardinals as they swept St. Louis at Turner Field to close out the year.
Now, the Cardinals rest up while the front office works to see who to place on the postseason roster. One thing is for sure: this team is healthy, well rested, and ready to roll, and has their eyes on the prize.
(Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)
