Asked about the St. Louis Cardinals‘ 10th straight series win

Thursday night Robbie Grossman Jersey , manager Mike Shildt explained it simply.“You win series, you’re going to win the Series,” he said.While St. Louis is two months away from that goal, it continues to march toward the postseason. With its 5-0 blanking of the Pittsburgh Pirates, it remained atop the National League wild-card race and stayed within 4 1/2 games of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.Article continues below ...The Cardinals, whose 21 wins in August are their most in a month since August of 2004, will try for a 22nd victory to end the month Friday night when they open a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds in Busch Stadium.“It’s just the byproduct of daily consistency and focus,” Shildt said. “You’re seeing guys with a competitive spirit and they’re bringing it every day. It’s clearly not easy to win games, but the guys are committed on a daily basis.”At 75-59, St. Louis is 28-13 under Shildt. His first game was July 15 Kyle Gibson Jersey , a 6-4 win over Cincinnati, and the last series it lost under his command was in late July against the Reds.Those Reds were playing good baseball at the time, winning against good teams and making a case for interim manager Jim Riggleman to become the permanent skipper. These Reds have regressed to what’s been a five-season mean, falling back to 20 games under .500 Thursday with a 2-1, 11-inning loss to Milwaukee.Not even the activation of All-Star first baseman Joey Votto from the 10-day disabled list could enable Cincinnati (57-77) to turn things around. It has lost eight of the last 10 games as a familiar problem has cropped up. The Reds have allowed 67 runs in that span.If recent and career-long trends hold true, Friday night probably won’t launch a turnaround for Cincinnati. Veteran right-hander Homer Bailey (1-12, 6.17 ERA) will start the series opener, which should excite Cardinal fans and their hitters.Bailey is coming off a 9-0 loss Sunday at the Cubs, permitting eight hits and six runs, three earned Logan Morrison Jersey , over five innings. The Reds have lost 17 of his 18 starts this year, including nine in a row, dating back to his 5-3 win on May 12 at the Los Angeles Dodgers.Bailey is 0-1 with two no-decisions in three outings against St. Louis this year, logging a respectable earned run average of less than 4.00. But in his career, Bailey is 6-14 with a 5.57 ERA in 26 starts, throwing 22 home run balls in just 140 2/3 innings.The Cardinals counter with rookie left-hander Austin Gomber (4-0, 2.79), who has permitted only four runs in his last four starts, covering 22 innings. Gomber checked Colorado on five hits and two runs over six innings Sunday in a 12-3 romp at Coors Field, walking one and whiffing six.In his first career start on July 24 Orlando Arcia Jersey , Gomber took a no-hitter into the seventh against the Reds before losing it and ultimately being no-decisioned in a 4-2 St. Louis win. CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs have always found reason to remain optimistic despite the times this season when they have struggled to score runs. The reason? Boasting the National League’s best record and holding down the top spot in the Central Division have kept them from losing hope.But as the Cubs wind down the regular season this week starting with Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the reality of a tight-knit race in the Central and the inability to push runs across at critical times no longer can be ignored.The Cubs were unable to do their part in reducing their magic number following a 5-1 loss to the Pirates on Monday in which Chicago left the bases loaded once and stranded a runner in scoring position with the Cubs trailing by a pair of runs. Chicago’s lone run on Monday came on a solo home run by pitcher Cole Hamels.Article continues below ...“The offense has taken a hit — there’s no question,” manager Joe Maddon told reporters earlier this month, according to the Arlington Heights Daily Herald. “There’s just no other way to look at it. I think we have to find that within ourselves.”As the Cubs finish off this week against divisional rivals, they face an increasingly growing possibility they could face either the Milwaukee Brewers or the St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs as the two NL Central foes currently hold down the top spots in the wild-card race.“Who has the advantage (in the playoffs)? I don’t know. Whoever pitches better that night has the advantage,” Maddon told reporters Monday, according to the Chicago Tribune. “It’s hard to do something different or new because both sides know each other pretty well. I totally agree with that. I’ve worried about that in the past, but I think I’ve learned not to because if you trust your players and put everyone out there and you’re in good health, you have just as good a shot as they do.”But before the Cubs can turn their focus to the postseason, they must still find a way to finish strong this week.Mike Montgomery (5-5 Jonathan Villar Jersey , 3.75 ERA) will take the mound for the Cubs on Tuesday. Montgomery is coming off a solid six-inning effort against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who he held to one earned run and four hits while striking out eight. Montgomery is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA in nine career appearances (three starts) against Pittsburgh.Chris Archer will face Montgomery as he looks for his third victory since joining the Pirates earlier this season. Archer (5-8, 4.49) allowed just one run and six hits and struck out eight over seven innings in his last outing against the Kansas City Royals. Archer is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts against the Cubs.After Jameson Taillon shut down the Cubs on Monday, Archer hopes to build on his recent performance.“The one thing I hang my hat on is making starts and pitching deep into ballgames,” Archer said after his last start, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Giving up way more runs than I wanted to this year, but the thing that frustrates me the most is my average innings. It has to be the lowest of my career, but there’s a correlation. The better you pitch, the deeper you pitch into games.”