The St. Louis Cardinals extended their winning streak to 12 games in a row on Thursday, out-slugging the Milwaukee Brewers by an 8-5 final (box score). The Cardinals now have the longest winning streak of any National League team this season, exceeding the Brewers’ previous 11-game stretch earlier this summer.
On Thursday, St. Louis first baseman Paul Goldschmidt recorded his third multi-homer game of the season, and all three have come since Aug. 25. Goldschmidt is now up to 29 home runs on the year overall, putting him in good position to notch his sixth 30-plus home run campaign.
In addition to Goldschmidt, the Cardinals received a multiple-RBI game from catcher Yadier Molina, who drove in a pair. Tommy Edman also plated a run as the Cards overcame an early 5-0 deficit.
On the pitching side of things, the Cardinals were able to weather a rough outing from Adam Wainwright thanks to a strong day from their bullpen. Kwang Hyun Kim, T.J. McFarland, Luis Garcia, and Giovanny Gallegos combined for five shutout frames.
The Cardinals are now a win away from matching the longest winning streak in the majors this season. That 13-game honor currently belongs to a pair of American League teams: the Oakland Athletics (May) and the New York Yankees (August).
The Cardinals will continue their final road trip of the regular season with a four-game set in Chicago against the Cubs this weekend. That includes a doubleheader on Friday. Afterward, the Cardinals will head home for six games against the Brewers and the Cubs to close out the regular season.
Entering Thursday, the Cardinals had a 4 1/2-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds for the NL’s second wild card spot. That is, realistically, the best spot they can achieve between now and the postseason: they’re now 7 1/2 games behind the Brewers — who have already clinched a postseason berth — in the NL Central and they’re an insurmountable 14 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top wild card spot.
