Cardinals’ Playoff Elimination Number Drops After Giants Loss

The St. Louis Cardinals aren't where they want to be in the standings right now.

Sep 8, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) throws the ball to first base against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals are running out of wiggle room in the race for a National League playoff spot.

It's been a fun season for the Cardinals overall, but the end is starting to creep up and St. Louis now finds itself six games out of a National League playoff spot after dropping the first two games of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. The Cardinals lost on Monday, 5-4. On Tuesday, the Cardinals followed up with a 2-1 loss at the hands of San Francisco.

On the bright side, the Cardinals got Masyn Winn back in the lineup. Plus, Quinn Mathews allowed just two runs in six innings. But the offense wasn't cooking. Now, the Cardinals are six games out of a playoff spot and the club's elimination number in the playoffs is down to 10.

St. Louis is now 72-74 on the season. The Pittsburgh Pirates jumped the Cardinals in the standings and now they're ahead of St. Louis on the outside looking in on the playoff race, along with the San Diego Padres, and the Miami Marlins. The Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks all would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

The Cardinals Are Running Out Of Time

Sep 8, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; left fielder Bryan Torres (39) and St. Louis Cardinals first base coach Stubby Clapp after Torres hit RBI single against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Marlins and Cardinals are tied right now with an elimination number down to 10. The Pirates are just one game ahead with 11. The Padres are at 16 right now with just a few weeks to go in the regular season.

The elimination number is a combination of the number of losses a team needs, as well as wins by a rival, for a team to be eliminated from something. For the Cardinals in this case, it is the Wild Card race we're talking about. There are elimination numbers for division races as well, but the Cardinals already are out of the mix in the National League Central. The clock is ticking, Cardinals fans. The expectation coming into the season wasn't that St. Louis was going to go out and make a run to the World Series. But the club was better than expected in the first half and gave the fanbase hope.

Unfortunately, the second half of the season hasn't been as good for the Cardinals in the standings. If St. Louis doesn't get hot now and start stacking wins, it's going to be another season without the postseason. The Giants series should've been a good opportunity to close the gap on paper, but that's baseball. The Giants won the first two games and St. Louis' chances of a playoff spot are dwindling.