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Chicago Cubs or St. Louis Cardinals; Who will win the Central?
By Jim Guzior
The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals are racing to the finish line. Who’s got the edge in home field and match-ups to take the Central Division?
Let’s face it, this Central Division Series is coming down to the wire, and I’m sure the bets are already in across Vegas whether this competition between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals will end up similar to the end of last season, with these two teams battling each other.
Considering the last games of the season will be the Cubs taking on the Cards at Busch Stadium III, it couldn’t have been set to end any other way. Let’s take a look at who’s got the edge between Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon and St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt going into the postseason.
Home Field Advantage
On September 1st we begin the last 30 days of the 2019 regular season. The Chicago Cubs will have just 13 home games left on the docket and 14 road games. The St. Louis Cardinals have the opposite with 14 home games and 13 road games left to complete.
Just like the Cubs, the Cardinals like playing at home and have a better record in Busch than on the road. In the “every game counts” scenario we’ve been talking about all Cubs season; having one more home game in the last 30 days could be just what the Cards need. But who exactly are these rivals facing at home in September?
The Cubs are looking at mostly division competition throughout September as they play the Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and the Cardinals all in Wrigley. The Mariners will sail into Chicago and try to win anything from their upcoming two-game series. So while the Cubs do play awesome in the Friendly Confines, they haven’t played well against division opponents.
If the Cubs want to be in the postseason this year, they must win the majority of their home games. If they get swept at home by any of their opponents, like the Washington Nationals recently did to them, the hole may be too big to crawl out of this season for the Cubs. It would take the Cards losing more games at home than usual to balance any sweep. Who are the Cards facing at home?