For many years Roberto Perez Jersey , the Chicago Cubs had to look up to find their rival St. Louis Cardinals in the standings.Times have changed.Chicago (94-66) has a chance to secure its fourth consecutive National League Central title against the Cardinals during the final weekend of the regular season at Wrigley Field. The Cubs’ magic number is two to clinch the division over the second-place Milwaukee Brewers, who are hosting the Detroit Tigers this weekend.Article continues below ...“Our destiny is in our hands,” Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant told the Chicago Tribune. “If we (pick each other up), we’re going to be in a good spot.”Meanwhile, St. Louis (87-73) is in a much more difficult spot with two games to go.The Cardinals emerged as a legitimate playoff contender after replacing ex-manager Mike Matheny with Mike Shildt, who has led the team to a 40-27 record since taking over just before the All-Star break. But a late-season stumble has pushed St. Louis to the outside looking in when it comes to the wild card.“Clearly, the back is completely against the wall,” Shildt said to reporters after an 8-4 loss in Friday’s series opener.The Cardinals’ task will not get any easier as they go up against Cubs left-hander Cole Hamels on Saturday afternoon.The 34-year-old Hamels is 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA with Chicago and 9-11 with a 3.87 ERA including his time with the Texas Rangers earlier this season. Hamels has allowed two earned runs or fewer in nine of 11 starts with the Cubs.In 13 career starts against the Cardinals, Hamels is 4-4 with a 2.79 ERA. He has struck out 87 batters in 84 innings.St. Louis will send out right-hander Miles Mikolas (17-4, 2.94 ERA) Eddie Robinson Jersey , who has taken over the role of ace and earned a selection to the All-Star Game this summer. The 30-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA in his last three outings.Mikolas is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA in five games (three starts) against the Cubs during his career. He is the Cardinals’ first pitcher to win 17 or more games in his first season with the club since the late Darryl Kile won 19 games in 2000.Cubs manager Joe Maddon is trying to lead the team to its fourth straight appearance in the NL Championship Series and its second World Series title in the past three years.“It’s a very alert time of the year,” Maddon said. “You’re always on alert. You don’t really let your guard down, ever. …“It’s always good to be able to hold a lead. But when you get to this time a year against really good teams like St. Louis and whomever else we’re going to play, you have this heightened state of alert about your mind and your observations and trying to piece things together. I’d rather you get more mentally alert as opposed to trying to do more physically.”The Cubs are 50-29 at home. The Cardinals are 44-35 on the road.St. Louis holds a 9-8 edge in the regular-season series. Both teams have scored 89 runs against one another. MILWAUKEE (AP) — The thin mountain air in Denver might do wonders for the slumping Colorado Rockies.They’re going home again, down 2-0 in the NL Division Series to the Milwaukee Brewers. Game 3 in the best-of-five series is Sunday at Coors Field.“I don’t have a doubt that we’re going to get things going,” Rockies veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said.If not, Gonzalez could be gone.The one-year, $5 million deal he signed last offseason to return to Colorado expires at the end of the year. After 11 seasons playing on Blake Street, the three-time Gold Glove winner and 2010 NL batting champion is about as synonymous with Colorado as dry air and beer.He’s a lifetime .323 hitter at Coors Field, 72 points higher than his career road average. He knows how much of a difference playing at home can make for hitters.Playing in front of a friendly crowd might have help the team relax after a frustrating Friday night of breaking bats and slamming batting gloves into helmets.The Rockies finished among the major league leaders in several offensive categories this year. But they’ve scored just six runs in four games since slugging five homers in a 12-0 victory over Washington on Sunday that left them tied for the NL West lead after 162 games.“When you’re down and you have some opportunities in front of you and you don’t get it done http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-belisle-jersey , you’re going to have some emotions you don’t see in the regular season. The season is on the line,” Gonzalez said.The Rockies will send right-hander German Marquez (14-11, 3.77 ERA) to the mound in Game 3 against Milwaukee’s Wade Miley (5-2, 2.57).“I think playing at home can get us going,” skipper Bud Black said.The punch is missing up and down the lineup.Colorado’s three All-Stars — center fielder Charlie Blackmon, third baseman Nolan Arenado and shortstop Trevor Story are a combined 3 for 23 in the series with two RBIs — both in the ninth inning of Game 1, which the Rockies lost 3-2 in 10 innings.Take away that rally and it’s a series shutout for Milwaukee. Colorado stranded nine runners in Game 2.Story’s struggles might be the most puzzling. He had seven homers and 18 RBIs against Milwaukee in the regular season.“I think for me personally, it’s swinging at bad pitches, chasing a little bit,” he said. “It’s tough to pinpoint actually Mike Napoli Jersey , but we’re going home, where we feel really good hitting. Hopefully, we can get it turned around there.”Gonzalez’s problems at the plate extend into the last month of the regular season. He hit .200 in 20 games in September and October with one homer and eight RBIs.Still, he was back in the cleanup position in Game 2, two spots up from the opener. He tripled in the first game, but ended up getting stranded.“When things are bad, even when you put a good swing to the ball … and some other guys hit the ball hard and they don’t find holes, it’s a little frustrating,” Gonzalez said. “You’ve just got to continue to work.”