Two teams hanging onto their wild-card hopes by a thread get an opportunity to eliminate one other when the St. Louis Cardinals and host San Francisco Giants meet in a three-game series that begins Monday.
Slumping of late but unwilling to give up the fight, both the Cardinals (76-80) and Giants (77-79) scratched out wins Sunday that allowed each to pick up a game in the National League wild-card standings.
The Giants, who will close the season at home with three games against the Colorado Rockies beginning Friday, open the week three games behind the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets, who are currently tied for the third and final wild-card spot.
The Cardinals are one game further back as they begin a six-game trip that wraps up with three games in Chicago against the Cubs at the end of the week.
With both the Reds and Mets off on Monday, neither the Cardinals nor Giants can be formally eliminated in the series opener, which features a battle of right-handers in St. Louis' Michael McGreevy (7-3, 4.08 ERA) and San Francisco's Justin Verlander (3-10, 3.75).
The Cardinals open the series unsure of what to expect from veteran Nolan Arenado. He was placed into the starting lineup in the club's final home game Sunday simply so he could take the field, then immediately walk off to a standing ovation before a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
It's possible that Arenado, an eight-time All-Star, has played his last game for the Cardinals.
"Listen, I feel like this organization needs to go a different route with how they go about their business," Arenado, 34, told reporters on Sunday. "They've got to let some of these young guys grow and see what they have, and there's no doubt that I'm in the way of that.
"So, I don't know what is going to happen," added Arenado, who has two years remaining on his contract. "But I do believe that change is coming -- as it should."
Somewhat surprisingly, Arenado and Verlander, 42, don't have much of a history. They've dueled just 13 times, with Arenado recording a homer, double, two singles and three RBIs.
Arenado was not in the lineup when Verlander threw six shutout innings in a 3-2 loss in St. Louis earlier this month. The Cardinals took two of three in that series.
Verlander has gone 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA in 36 innings over six career starts against St. Louis.
Despite Sunday's win, the Cardinals will begin the final week having lost eight of 12. The Giants have fared even worse, dropping seven of eight before a late rally produced a 3-1 road win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
Afterward, Giants manager Bob Melvin assured his team hasn't thrown in the towel on the season, and he hopes a win over the Dodgers can start his club in a positive direction.
"All the way around, that was a huge game," he said in his postgame press conference. "We lose the first three (in LA), we're losing ground every day. To be able to come back and win a game against them here in this ballpark, their last game at home, there was a lot riding on it for us."
McGreevy was the losing pitcher in the Giants' only win in St. Louis earlier this month, rocked for six runs and nine hits in four innings of an 8-2 setback on Sept. 5. The second-year major leaguer has faced San Francisco just twice, going 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA in 12 innings.
--Field Level Media
