The Cardinals may get a bit of an easier chance to win today, as the Cubs clinched NL home field when the Nationals lost Friday night. Alex Reyes takes on Jason Hammel. Reyes is fairly typical of the Cardinals farm system. He comes to the majors striking out a ton of batters, 40 in his first 35 innings, and allowing just one home run. His walks are a bit high, but the other two legs of the three-true outcome stool compensate for that. Hammel needs 14 more innings to up his single season high. Since the Cubs have nothing left to play for in the regular season, he might not get there as Maddon is likely to give his starters light workouts to keep them fresh.

Once again the Nationals can clinch the NL East with a win against Pittsburgh and a Mets loss. They are also fighting off the Dodgers for the right to host the NLDS. Joe Ross takes on Ivan Nova. Ross makes his second start since returning from a shoulder injury. He pitched well in the first, walking none and striking out five in six innings, in a start shortened by rain. Nova’s ERA with the Pirates is two runs lower than it was with the Yankees. He only walked three batters in 55 1/3 innings. The Pirates coaches are very good at getting wild pitchers under control.

Finally, the Dodgers can clinch the NL West with a win and a Giants loss as the Rockies send Chad Bettis against Clayton Kershaw. Bettis is the rare pitcher who performs worse on the road than he does at Coors Field. He allowed 15 of his 21 home runs away from Colorado. Kershaw’s rehabilitation appears to have worked. In three starts since returning from the disabled list, his ERA is 1.29 in 14 innings, with one walk and seventeen strikeouts.

Enjoy!