The St. Louis Cardinals clinched the NL Central on the final day of the regular season, using Jack Flaherty’s arm and Matt Carpenter’s bat Sunday to win their first division title since 2015 with a 9-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Flaherty tossed seven impressive innings and Carpenter led a three-homer attack with a three-run drive to help St. Louis advanced to the NL Division Series, starting Thursday at Atlanta.
Mike Shildt becomes the third manager in major league history to reach the postseason without ever having played in the major or minor leagues.