The Cardinals magic number stays unchanged after another poor starting pitching performance. Michael Wacha was tagged early for six runs in the first two innings, allowing home runs to Anthony Rizzo in the first and Starlin Castro in the second. Despite a five-run seventh inning, the Cardinals came up short in their 8-5 loss. Pittsburgh bounced back to beat Cincinnati 7-3, closing the Central gap to 4.5 games.
Cardinals magic number to clinch the Central Division — 21
Cardinals 87-51
Pittsburgh 82-55
The Royals scored four in the first with the first six batters reaching base against former Missouri Tiger Kyle Gibson. Eric Hosmer cleared the bases with a double and scored on Kendrys Morales’ double. From there, the Royals held on to beat the Twins 4-2, knocking two games off the magic number.
Royals magic number to clinch the Central Division — 13
Royals 83-55
Minnesota 71-67
The magic number is determined by taking 163 and subtracting the number of wins for the Cardinals (or Royals) and subtracting the number of losses for the Pirates (and Twins) respectively.