The National League Wild Card race is getting exciting. The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres appear locked into the first two spots, but the third spot is very much up for grabs. The New York Mets currently lead the race for that final spot, but the Cincinnati Reds are right behind them, sitting just one game back, while the St. Louis Cardinals, who are longshots to make it, sit four games back.
All three teams have a crucial two week stretch ahead of them, and it will be interesting to see how the Wild Card race looks after these two weeks. We will look at all three teams' schedules and what to expect based on what those schedules look like
Mets schedule through September 7
Date/Opponent | Prediction |
|---|---|
8/22 @ Braves | W |
8/23 @ Braves | L |
8/24 @ Braves | W |
8/25 vs. Phillies | L |
8/26 vs. Phillies | W |
8/27 vs. Phillies | L |
8/28 vs. Marlins | L |
8/29 vs. Marlins | W |
8/30 vs. Marlins | W |
8/31 vs. Marlins | W |
9/1 @ Tigers | L |
9/2 @ Tigers | L |
9/3 @ Tigers | W |
9/5 @ Reds | W |
9/6 @ Reds | L |
9/7 @ Reds | L |
Reds schedule through September 7
Date/Opponent | Prediction |
|---|---|
8/22 @ D-Backs | L |
8/23 @ D-Backs | W |
8/24 @ D-Backs | L |
8/25 @ Dodgers | L |
8/26 @ Dodgers | L |
8/27 @ Dodgers | W |
8/29 vs. Cardinals | W |
8/30 vs. Cardinals | L |
8/31 vs. Cardinals | W |
9/1 vs. Blue Jays | W |
9/2 vs. Blue Jays | L |
9/3 vs. Blue Jays | L |
9/5 vs. Mets | L |
9/6 vs. Mets | W |
9/7 vs. Mets | W |
Cardinals schedule through September 7
Date/Opponent | Prediction |
|---|---|
8/22 @ Rays | L |
8/24 @ Rays | L |
8/25 vs. Pirates | W |
8/26 vs. Pirates | L |
8/27 vs. Pirates | W |
8/28 vs. Pirates | W |
8/29 @ Reds | L |
8/30 @ Reds | W |
8/31 @ Reds | L |
9/1 vs. Athletics | W |
9/2 vs. Athletics | W |
9/3 vs. Athletics | L |
9/5 vs. Giants | W |
9/6 vs. Giants | L |
9/7 vs. Giants | W |
Predicting Wild Card standings through September 7
As you can see in the tables, St. Louis has the easiest schedule, so based on that alone, they could gain a lot of ground and find themselves right back in the mix after September 7. Following their series against the San Francisco Giants, they'll have a stretch in which they play the Seattle Mariners, the Reds again, and the Milwaukee Brewers twice. They'll wrap up the season against the Chicago Cubs.
Even though the Mets are struggling and the Atlanta Braves are playing well, they do get some breaks in their schedule. Atlanta is well out of postseason contention, and the Miami Marlins are also well out of the race, so that could present the Mets with an opportunity to hold their position.
The Reds appear to have the toughest test out of all three teams, so they could lose a little bit of ground, and even though they have played well lately, they haven't been setting the world on fire by any means. The table below shows what the standings will look like after September 7 based on our predictions.
Team/Record | Games Back |
|---|---|
Mets 75-68 | - |
Reds 74-69 | 1 |
Cardinals 72-72 | 3 1/2 |
The predictions are based on opponent and who is pitching for each team, as of now. Based on our predictions, it doesn't appear as though there will be much change, but St. Louis will have picked up some ground and the Reds will have kept pace with the Mets, which could set up a wild [no pun intended] final three weeks of the season.
The Mets and Reds are the most likely candidates to win the final Wild Card spot, mainly because St. Louis finds ways to lose to bad teams and doesn't have much starting pitching. But you never know what's going to happen.