St. Louis Cardinals Will Storm Back to Win NL Central as Milwaukee Brewers Choke

The St. Louis Cardinals just swept the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the first time all season the Brewers lost three games in a row at home. It also marks the sixth win for the Cardinals in their last seven games and their fourth in a row.

The Cardinals are 7.5 games back of the Brewers in the NL Central Division race, but I believe they are going to pull off a shocker and actually storm back to take the NL Central title.

Let me break it down for you.

Albert Pujols Is Heating Up

Pujols has had a great year if you were judging him against any other player. Going by the standard the great Pujols has set for himself, though, it has been an off year. He got off to a slow start, and then he suffered a hairline fracture in his wrist.

For Pujols, it seemed like he could never get on track.

Then slowly but surely, he started heating up. Today, in a must-win game, Pujols went deep twice, including his 12th career grand slam. Pujols now leads the NL with 34 home runs.

If the big man heats up now, he could singlehandedly carry this offense into October.

The Cardinals Have a Dangerous Lineup

If Pujols catches fire, he will have plenty of guys helping him. The addition of Rafael Furcal at the top of the lineup makes this one of the deepest lineups in baseball.

The Pujols-Matt Holliday-Lance Berkman triumvirate in the middle of that order is lethal when they are all clicking, and David Freese and Yadier Molina are both capable of winning a ballgame with a big hit.

If this lineup starts clicking, the Cardinals could pull off this miracle comeback.

Looking at the Schedules: Advantage, Cardinals

The Cardinals have a pretty favorable schedule the rest of the way, and I think they will win or tie every series from here to the finish line. They have three more games against the Brewers at home, and if they can sweep the Brewers and string some more wins together, they can pull this off.

They play three games at home against the Reds, in which they will win two and lose one. The Reds, meanwhile, have to make the long trip to Houston.

I think the Brewers are in a funk, and the Astros have nothing to lose. Milwaukee wins one and loses two.

The Cardinals are 6.5 games behind the Brew Crew.

The Showdown

The Cardinals need to sweep the Brewers to even make this dream possible. Let's say for the sake of argument that the Brewers come into town, having just been swept by the Cards in Milwaukee and then dropping two out of three to lowly Houston.

The Cardinals will pull off the sweep. They are now 3.5 games back.

The Brewers Feel It Slipping Away

Now the Brewers are in a panic. They feel the lead slipping away. This is the lead story every night on SportsCenter. The radio show hosts are killing the Brew Crew. 

Can't you just feel the pressure?

The Cardinals get the Atlanta Braves at home. Atlanta is a very good team, but the Cardinals are red-hot. They will win two out of three games. Meanwhile, the Brewers have four games at home against the Phillies. They will drop three out of four.

The Cardinals are now just two games behind the Brewers.

Next Up for the Cards: Pittsburgh Pirates

Now the Cardinals travel to Pittsburgh for three games. They will sweep this series, while the Brewers have two games at home against the Rockies, winning one out of two.

The Cardinals are now only 1.5 games behind the Brewers.

The Cards Go to Philadelphia

This series will have extra meaning for the Cardinals. First of all, they need to keep winning just to make the playoffs. But if they do make the playoffs, they will probably end up facing the Phillies in the first round.

This series is important for both sides, and the Phillies won't hold anything back.

The Cardinals will split the series at two games apiece. Meanwhile, the Brewers travel to Cincinnati for a three-game set, where they will again only win one out of three.

The Brewers are choking. The Cardinals are now only one game behind Milwaukee.

Cardinals Host the Mets

The Cardinals are now at home against the Mets. The Brewers have three games in Chicago. The Cardinals will take two out of three, but this time, so will the Brewers.

When have the Cubs ever helped the Cardinals?

The Redbirds are still one game behind.

The Cubbies Come to Town

There are now only six games left for both teams. With the season in the balance, the Chicago Cubs come to Busch Stadium. What a scene that will be—the Cardinals' most-hated rival coming to St. Louis in a must-win series.

The Cardinals won't disappoint, sweeping the Cubs.

Meanwhile, the Brewers host the Florida Marlins. They will win the first two games of the series but drop the final game.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are now all tied up.

Final Countdown

The Cardinals travel to Houston to close the season out. They are riding a wave of momentum, led by the game's best player, and attempting to pull off a comeback for the ages.

The Brewers, meanwhile, will host the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Brewers have been one of the best home teams in baseball this year, but they are really feeling the pressure of their epic choke job.

The Cardinals win the first game in Houston. The Brewers counter with a win of their own.

The Cardinals trail Game 2 in Houston, but a late-inning homer by Yadi Molina helps the Cards snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Brewers will cruise to an easy victory behind a raucous home crowd.

The regular season will come down to the very last game.

The Grand Finale

On the final day of the regular season, the Cardinals and Brewers are tied. For the Cardinals, they will send their aging warrior, Chris Carpenter, to the mound in an attempt to win on the road. For the Brewers, all they have to do is win at home.

Then again, all they had to do up to this point was play .500 baseball and they would have won the NL Central with ease.

Carpenter reaches into the "way-back machine" and pitches a game Cardinals fans will be talking about for years to come. Carpenter's stat line:

8 IP, 3 H, 10 K, 1 W, 0 Runs.

Pujols goes deep in the first inning, and the Cards pile on from there. With a 6-0 lead before the fifth inning is over, Milwaukee is left watching the scoreboard.

Andrew McCutchen hits a third-inning homer to put the Brewers behind. The enormity of their collapse begins to set in, and to the disbelief of their home crowd, the Brewers lose.

The Cardinals, who trailed by 10.5 games on Aug. 29, have done the impossible. They are the NL Central champions!

Don't Stop Believin'

Sure, this would be one of the most unbelievable comebacks in the history of baseball. However, the Cardinals do have the best player in baseball, they do have a favorable schedule and they do play Milwaukee in a three-game set next week in St. Louis.

If they can sweep that series and the Brewers start to choke, anything can happen. Feel free to agree or disagree! Me, I refuse to give up on the Cardinals' season. I'm going down with the ship!