wild card

Heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, the St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in the second National League wild card slot, a game ahead of the San Diego Padres who, as fate would have it, open a three-game series at Busch Stadium Friday night.

The Cardinals stayed alive in the wild-card race by rallying from a 3-0 deficit to beat Pittsburgh, 4-3 Saturday.

Bud Norris pitched into the eighth inning for his first win since May 21, and Jose Altuve homered and the Houston Astros avoided a sweep with a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, who are vying for the second NL wild card, on Wednesday night...