Fastball

St. Louis Cardinals On Pace to Do Something They Haven't Done in Nearly 35 Years

Could the St. Louis Cardinals finish last in a division for the first time since 1990?
Brady Farkas|
St. Louis Cardinals On Pace to Do Something They Haven't Done in Nearly 35 Years
St. Louis Cardinals On Pace to Do Something They Haven't Done in Nearly 35 Years

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St. Louis Cardinals

Entering play on Tuesday, the St. Louis Cardinals are 55-71 and in last place in the National League Central.

They are 13.5 games out of first place and trail the fourth-place Pirates by 1.5 game. It's a shocking fall for one of the proudest franchises in the entire sport - and one who won the division just last year.

According to MLB Now on social media, the Cardinals are on pace to do something they haven't done since 1990: Finish last.

The Cardinals played in the National League East at that time, as there was no National League Central. They finished behind the Pirates, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.

The Marlins, Rockies, Rays and Diamondbacks didn't even exist in 1990 and the Astros were in the National League - while the Brewers were in the American League.

It's just been a terrible season for St. Louis, who expected to compete again this season. After losing Yadier Molina to retirement, they signed Willson Contreras in free agency, so this fall isn't about lack of spending.

They traded away Jordan Montgomery and Jordan Hicks at the trade deadline, sending them to Texas and Toronto, respectively.

The Cardinals will look to gain ground on the Pirates on Tuesday night. First pitch from PNC Park is set for 7:05 p.m. ET as Adam Wainwright goes up against Johan Oviedo.

Wainwright is 3-8 with an 8.42 ERA in his send-off season while Oviedo is 6-13 with a 4.55 ERA for the Pirates.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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