ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals clinched home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs when they beat the Chicago Cubs 4-0 Sunday for their sixth straight win. With the top seed, the NL Central champions will host the wild-card winner in Game 1 of a NL division series on Thursday.
Joe Kelly (10-5) pitched 5 1-3 innings of three-hit ball in relief of Jake Westbrook as the Cardinals matched a season high winning streak to finish 97-65, their most since reaching 100 in 2005. St. Louis also won six straight from April 30-May 5. Jon Jay, Daniel Descalso, Shane Robinson and Tony Cruz drove in runs for St. Louis.
The Cubs finish last in the Central at 66-96.