What a wild weekend it’s been so far.
On Friday night, Cardinals’ starter John Smoltz gave up two quick runs to the Chicago Cubs in the first. It did not look good early. But Smoltz settled down and the bullpen came through to keep the 
Cubs from scoring and allow the Cards to tie the game. In the bottom of the 9th, Matt Holliday hit an opposite field liner over the wall for a walk-off winner.
On Saturday, Chris Carpenter was dealing. And so was Ryan Dempster, really. This really was a pitcher’s duel, but the Cards took a 1-0 lead on Brendan Ryan’s solo homer in the 5th inning. Many would say, “Well, it’s Carp…one run is plenty.” And they were right until closer Ryan Franklin came in and blew the save, allowing Chicago to tie the game 1-1. But Franklin squashed the Cubs’ rally before they could take the lead, and Ryan shined once again by singling home Mark DeRosa for another walk-off winner.
If the Cards could have just played .500 ball against the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins over the past week, Cardinal Nation would be buzzing about the possibility of clinching the division title at home with a sweep of the Cubs in front of a national television audience. Alas, it was not meant to be. And that’s OK, really.
It would have been great to see the Cards clinch at home against the Cubbies. But these wins still have enormous meaning. The Magic Number is now four with 13 games to play. After losing five of six to the Braves and Marlins, the Cardinals needed these victories as a pick-me-up. Nothing is more exciting than a walk-off win; two in a row is a great confidence booster. And when you factor in that one was a comeback victory and the other followed a blown late-inning lead, this team certainly looks to be back on the right track. Getting these victories against the Cubs obviously makes them a little sweeter, too.
Sappy love fest aside, the Cards really need to address the issues Ryan Franklin is facing. Early in the 9th on Saturday, the Cubs looked like they were taking batting practice off him and scored the tying run. But after the run scored, Franklin looked fine. He has blown three saves in September and his 
season ERA is up about a run in that timeframe. This is not a good time to be struggling, but October would be an even worse time. Hopefully he can sort things out before then.
The offense hasn’t exactly been on fire either. In their two wins this weekend, the Cards have scored a grand total of five runs. And this trend has been going on for a while. Fortunately the Cardinals have plenty of pitching to keep them in games, and this was never on display more than these past two games against Chicago.
Honestly, even after the two victories against the Cubs, I think this Cardinals team is simply slumping a little. Hey, it happens…this is the Major Leagues. At the end of April, we had to tell ourselves that they couldn’t play .700 baseball for the rest of the year. The same has held true for September. Hopefully this series against the Cubs, even though it has featured shaky pitching and little offense, is just the jolt the Cardinals need to get some momentum going for the end of the regular season and the beginning of playoff baseball.
So what’s next? Sunday Night Baseball featuring Carlos Zambrano vs. Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals look to sweep the series and reduce their Magic Number to two. It’s also the last time they’ll play Chicago this season. So long, Cubbies. Wait ‘til next…ah, nevermind.
Chris Reed is a freelance writer from Belleville, IL who also blogs on the Cardinals at http://bird-brained.mlblogs.com. **Be sure to stop by and read my latest post about my evening with Tony LaRussa last week.**