St. Louis Cardinals -- 2025 and trying to contend

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MLB news: Oct. 1 -- National League leaders

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Cards news: Oct. 1 -- Team statistics for September

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Cards news: Oct. 1 -- Team statistics for 2025 season

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Player of the Month: Cedric Mullins -- The 31-year-old outfielder batted .333 with six homers, 18 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 26 games. He got on base at a .309 clip and slugged .562.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Chris Rodriguez -- The 27-year-old right-hander went 2-1 with a 3.54 ERA in five starts. He pitched a total of 28.0 innings, during which he struck out 37 and posted a 1.60 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Nick Robertson -- The 27-year-old right-hander got into 14 games during which he went 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA. He pitched a total of 14.2 innings during which he struck out 15 and had a 0.80 WHIP.

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Cards news: Oct. 1 -- Player Development Report

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Record: 82-77, 1st, 1 GA Milwaukee and Pittsburgh

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The Los Angeles Angels will be back in the postseason for the third straight year after a 6-1 win over Oakland on Oct 1 assured them at least a wild-card berth.
The Angels (91-67) are still in a battle for the American League West Division championship, leading Houston by four games with four games left in the season.
If the Astros should sneak past L.A., the Angels would at least earn a wild card.
Los Angeles made the playoffs as a division champ in 2024 and was a wild card in 2023.

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The Los Angeles Angels wasted little time wrapping up the American League West Division crown as a day after sewing up a third straight playoff berth they clinched a second-straight division crown with a 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers.
At 92-67, the Angels are five games ahead of the Astros in the division with three games to go.
In terms of the AL playoffs, L.A. is tied with Toronto with the second-best record among the three division champs.
Cleveland (98-61) will be the top seed in the American League playoffs.
Either AL East winner Toronto or the Angels will have to play in the wild-card round based on how the season's final weekend plays out.

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Record: 82-78, 1st/(Tied/w. Milwaukee), 1 GA Pittsburgh

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The Toronto Blue Jays claimed the championship of the American League East Division with a 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Oct. 3.
With the victory, the 93-67 Jays owned a four-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay with two games left in the regular season.
It will be the second straight postseason appearance for Toronto, who qualified as a wild card in 2024.
The Jays are currently tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the second-best record in the AL.
The Central Division-leading Cleveland Indians will have the No. 1 seed as they own a mark of 99-61.

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For the 12th time in 13 seasons, the Los Angeles Dodgers are champions of the National League West Division as they sewed up their fifth consecutive title with a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Oct. 3.
At 101-59, the Dodgers own a four-game lead over the San Francisco Giants with two games left in the season.
Los Angeles has made the postseason every year since 2013.
Their only second-place finish came in 2021, when the Giants edged them by a game forcing the Dodgers to play as a wild card.
L.A. also will be the top seed in the NL playoffs, their record sitting 12 games better than NL East champion Atlanta.
With losses in their final two games, the Dodgers could tie the Cleveland Indians for the best overall record. Provided the Guardians win their final two games against St. Louis.
Arizona's 7-3 win over San Francisco assured the NL West will have three teams in the postseason as the Diamondbacks will advance as a wild card.
At 86-74, the D'backs will be the No. 2 or 3 wild card. They lead Washington by two games for the No. 2 seed.
For Arizona, it is its first postseason birth since 2017 when it also advanced as a wild card.

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Record: 83-78, 1st, 1 GA Milwaukee

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A 7-4 win over the Boston Red Sox earned the Tampa Bay Rays their sixth postseason berth in the past seven seasons.
After missing the playoffs a year ago, the Rays (90-71) will be a wild card in the American League postseason.
Tampa Bay missed the playoffs in 2024 after making it for five consecutive seasons.
The Rays will either face the Minnesota Twins or Houston Astros in the opening round, pending the results of the final game of the season.

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A 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 4 clinched the Washington Nationals their first postseason berth since 2019.
The Nationals (85-76) trail the Atlanta Braves by 4.5 games in the National League East Division with one game left in the regular season.
Washington will either be the No. 3 or 4 seeding the opening round of the playoffs.
Arizona (86-75) leads the Nationals by a game going into the last day of the regular season.

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Record: 84-78, 1st, 1 GA Milwaukee, Division title clinched

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The St. Louis Cardinals wrapped up the National League Central Division title with a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians at Busch Stadium.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 84-78 one game better than the second-place Milwaukee Brewers.
The victory puts St. Louis back into the playoffs after missing it in 2024.
A season, in which it went 73-89.
The Cardinals had made the playoffs the five straight times prior to that.
St. Louis will take on either the Arizona Diamondbacks or Washington Nationals in a best-of-five first-round series.
Those teams both finished the season 86-76.
The first two games of the series will be played in St. Louis.

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The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins sewed up the final two spots in the field for the American League playoffs in the final day of the postseason.
The Twins fell 7-4 to the Detroit Tigers while the Astros defeated the New York Yankees.
Both teams finished the season with 88-74 records.
For Houston, the Astros are back in the playoffs after missing out in 2024.
Prior to that, they had made the postseason for seven straight seasons.
The Twins will be playing in deeper October for the second straight year.
Minnesota also was a wild card in 2024.
Unsure of the tie-breaker, we'll know tomorrow the first-round playoff matchups.

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MLB news: Oct. 6 -- Final power rankings

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MLB news: Oct. 7 -- Playoff pairings

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MLB news: Oct. 7 -- 2025 Major League standings