VEB Open Thread - Friday, 09/24/21

Good morning, everyone! Happy Friday. The Cardinals have won 12 in a row and own a 4 1/2-game lead in the National League Wild Card standings. At the start of play on Friday, the Cardinals probability to make the playoffs, according to FanGraphs, is 98.2 percent.

The Phillies are 4 ¹⁄₂ games back of the Cardinals in the Wild Card standings, the Reds are 5 ¹⁄₂ back, and the Padres are six games behind with 10 days left in the regular season.

The final stop on the Cardinals’ last regular season road trip is Wrigley Field for a four-game series, starting off with a split doubleheader on Friday. J.A. Happ will start the first game, and Jack Flaherty will go in the night cap. Flaherty is only slated for one or two innings, so a long outing for Happ in the first game is key, as the bullpen will have a lot of work to do in the second game.

First pitch of the day from the North Side is set for 1:20 PM Central time. The second game will start around 7:05 PM.