BEREA, Ohio -- Baker Mayfield fired back Wednesday at former NFL coach and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan for calling him "overrated as hell" earlier in the week.

"It's whatever," the Cleveland Browns quarterback said. "In the wise words of [Cleveland coach] Freddie Kitchens, if you don't wear orange and brown, you don't matter, and Rex Ryan doesn't have any colors right now for a reason. So, it's OK."

Ryan slammed Mayfield on ESPN's Get Up on Monday, after the Browns lost to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night to fall to 1-2.

"I don't get it. I'd love to be an offensive coordinator here,'' Ryan said of Cleveland. "If I have Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb and there's Baker Mayfield -- yeah, I know he's overrated as hell. ..."

When pressed to expound, Ryan said, "Look, I bought into the dang hype. I'm like, 'Oh, yeah' -- not to the point where everyone's saying he's going to be the league MVP.

"What's he doing right? Here's a guy right now that's a one-read guy, and then he's going to improvise. He's gotta realize that you are one of the slowest guys on that field when you take off with it. The other thing, the ball's not coming out in rhythm. You're staring down guys, and you're not that accurate down the field."

After coming in second in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting last season, Mayfield is off to a rough start statistically through three weeks. He ranks 30th in completion rate and 32nd in quarterback rating. Only four teams have scored fewer points than the Browns, who are averaging only 16.3 per game.

Ryan was fired from two head-coaching jobs in the last five years, including the New York Jets in 2014 and the Buffalo Bills in 2016. He hasn't coached since.

Before Wednesday's practice, Kitchens came to the defense of his quarterback, calling Ryan's comments "asinine to even say."

"I appreciate his opinion and all that, but he's not in our building, he has no idea what we're doing," Kitchens said.

Beckham also dismissed Ryan's criticism of Mayfield.

"At the end of the day, when we go out there, no offense to Rex because I love him, we don't really care what you said," Beckham said. "'Overrated as hell,' none of that is gonna matter when you go on the field."

Mayfield, however, admitted that blocking out such criticism can be difficult.

"It's something you really have to be conscious of, because you're surrounded in an environment where you hear a lot of things, stuff pops up on your phone or stuff is on TV," Mayfield said. "People talk. You have to make a conscious decision to protect your locker room and take care of your guys and block out the negative stuff. And when they pat you on the back, it's even worse."

Despite their slow start, the Browns could still take the AFC North lead with a victory Sunday at Baltimore. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who won the Heisman Trophy for Louisville in 2016, the year before Mayfield won it at Oklahoma, had nothing but praise for Mayfield.

"I feel he's a great quarterback," Jackson said. "He went No. 1 in the draft for a reason."

ORLANDO, Fla. -- It was time for the last jump shot of Markelle Fultz's workout on the Orlando Magic practice court Wednesday. He let a 3-pointer fly from the left corner and spun around in celebration even before the ball swished through the net.

After two years of problems, he's feeling good again.

The shoulder injuries that kept him off the court for most of the two seasons since he was picked No. 1 in the 2017 draft are now being managed -- he's hesitant to say healed -- and Fultz is expected to be a full participant in practice when the Magic open training camp next week. It's a significant step forward, though the Magic also know they'll have to proceed with caution.

In case you were wondering what Markelle's been up to... pic.twitter.com/3RE39oLN51

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) September 25, 2019

"Man, I always have joy every time I step in here, no matter what's going on," Fultz said after his workout. "As I learned quickly, you can't take it for granted. You never know when it's going to get stripped away from you."

His shot is still a work in progress. Some of his jumpers Wednesday were perfect, some rimmed out and a few took an ugly trajectory to the front of the rim. His release doesn't appear to be the same as it was during his college season at Washington, part of the retraining he's done to deal with his shoulder issues.

But he's on the floor. That's major progress.

"We're going to remain patient," Magic president Jeff Weltman said. "We're not going to put expectations or timelines on his development. He hasn't played basketball in a year. He's played 33 games total in his career. So it's going to unfold the way it unfolds."

Fultz has played in 33 regular-season games over his two NBA seasons. His shoulder problems -- first called a scapular muscle imbalance, a fancy way of saying the joints in the shoulder weren't working together properly -- took him out of the lineup for the first time after just four games of his rookie season with Philadelphia. He missed 68 games that season before returning for the final few weeks.

Last season was equally problematic.

Fultz started Philadelphia's first 15 games before things went bad again. He double-clutched a free throw in a game at Miami and was widely mocked on social media afterward. Before long, he was diagnosed with a new problem -- neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition where blood vessels or nerves around the collarbone and first rib are compressed.

"A lot of people, they would never go play with what I had and knowing they couldn't shoot the ball," Fultz said.

By the time doctors figured out what was really ailing Fultz, he had played his last game for the 76ers. The Magic traded Jonathan Simmons and a package of draft picks to Philadelphia to acquire Fultz in February. He never played for the Magic last season, though the move last week to pick up his $12.3 million option for 2020-21 is a clear sign that Orlando believes in Fultz.

"It was a no-brainer," Weltman said.

Fultz said he's not motivated by silencing doubters. But if that was the case, it wouldn't surprise Mike Jones. He's the coach at DeMatha Catholic High in Hyattsville, Maryland, a perennial national powerhouse -- the school where Fultz played.

Jones also was the coach who didn't pick Fultz for varsity when he was a sophomore.

"His whole career has been proving people wrong," Jones said. "When he didn't make the varsity here, I truly believe that he spent the next two years here making sure I knew that was a mistake. And now, I think he wants people to keep doubting him -- because he's going to show them."

Lorenzo Romar, Fultz's college coach at Washington, feels the same way.

Fultz spent some time with Romar, now the coach at Pepperdine, last season. They didn't talk much about his injury -- "the elephant in the room" is how Romar described the situation. But Romar coached Magic guard Terrence Ross in college, has followed Magic forward Aaron Gordon's career closely and knows the strides that Orlando took last season while getting to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

Adding Fultz to that mix, Romar said, is only going to make Orlando better.

"I know the pieces they have on that team," Romar said. "When Markelle comes back and gets his rhythm back, he's as good a talented point guard as you will find. He's an athletic wizard. You put him out there with the rest of that group when he gets his rhythm, they could be special."

Fultz doesn't disagree.

He said he dreams of the day he can play 5-on-5 in a real game again. He raves about Magic coach Steve Clifford, raves about what the team's medical staff has done for him -- taking tons of time last season to acquaint themselves with his injury, sending people to Los Angeles to work with him this offseason, then putting together the proper balance of on-court work, rest and rehab in Orlando.

His game is coming back. His confidence is still there.

"I was the No. 1 pick for a reason," Fultz said. "I knew that I work hard and what I can do on the basketball court. That's all that matters."

Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving suffered a left-side facial fracture when he was elbowed in the face at the team's practice facility Tuesday, the team announced Wednesday.

The Nets said Irving is day-to-day with the injury.

Irving was sent to the hospital for evaluation after being injured during a pickup game.

Coach Kenny Atkinson told NetsDaily.com that Irving was "OK."

General manager Sean Marks had praised Irving on Tuesday, saying he had already shown leadership and intensity in the team's summer get-togethers. He said Irving has been "religious" in his participation in workouts at the team's practice facility.

Marks said he could already see camaraderie building between the team's veterans and young players.

Training camp officially opens for the Nets on Saturday. They are taking part in the NBA's preseason China Games, facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 10 in Shanghai and Oct. 12 in Shenzhen. The Nets open the regular season on Oct. 23 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

All-Star pitcher Sonny Gray of the Cincinnati Reds had arthroscopic right elbow surgery Wednesday and is expected to recover in time for spring training next year.

Gray underwent the operation to remove loose bodies from his pitching elbow, a condition he dealt with the entire season.

The surgery is not expected to impact the two-time All-Star's offseason schedule, according to the Reds.

Gray, 29, went 11-8 with a 2.87 ERA and 205 strikeouts in 31 starts this season, his first year with the Reds. He entered Wednesday fifth in the National League in ERA and 11th in strikeouts.

DETROIT -- Twins reliever Sam Dyson had surgery on his shoulder, ending the right-hander's season and potentially putting 2020 in jeopardy as well.

Dyson had the capsule repair operation Tuesday in California. Manager Rocco Baldelli said the timeline isn't firm, but it could be a year before Dyson can pitch in a game again.

The Twins acquired Dyson from San Francisco at the trade deadline this year, sending three minor leaguers to the Giants. He has one more club-controllable year before he can become a free agent.

Dyson went on the injured list less than a week after being acquired and has made only 12 appearances since the trade.

Minnesota can clinch the AL Central title Wednesday with a victory at Detroit and a Cleveland loss to the White Sox.

PHOENIX -- St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha left Wednesday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks with right shoulder tightness.

Wacha had a 2-0 count on Diamondbacks right fielder Abraham Almonte in the bottom of the second inning when a trainer came out to check on him. After a short conversation on the mound, Wacha and the trainer walked into the Cardinals dugout.

Wacha was charged with two runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. He made his 28th appearance and 23rd start of the season, striking out two and walking two on 43 pitches.

Wacha hasn't won a game since July 19. His two strikeouts gave him 759 in his career and tied him with Mort Cooper (1938-1945) for 19th in Cardinals history.

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez has been ordered held without bond following his arrest on multiple felony charges, including sexual assault of a minor.

Vazquez was taken into custody last week by Pennsylvania State Police on an arrest warrant from Florida stemming from illicit electronic communication with an underage girl. State police say he told investigators he attempted to have sex with the girl during a meeting at her house in 2017.

Vazquez was charged with statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of indecent assault of a person under 16 years old.

Westmoreland County District Judge Charles Moore denied bond for the 28-year-old Vazquez during a brief hearing Wednesday.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says it began investigating Vazquez in August after learning of an alleged sexual relationship between Vazquez and a teenage girl living in Florida.

It was a sweltering Monday afternoon in St. Louis -- mid-90s and Missouri humid, with a real-feel temperature hitting 106 degrees. It was only a few days before the beginning of autumn, when in baseball we turn our attention to the playoffs. In St. Louis, they apparently had not gotten the memo, either in terms of the weather or the playoffs. The Cardinals were in prime position, but in their clubhouse, there is never any yesterday, nor is there any acknowledgment of a tomorrow.

That leaves it to us to create a context no one associated with the team seems to want to address straight on. The Cardinals sat in first place on Sept. 16, but their lead over the hated Chicago Cubs was at two games. The hard-charging Milwaukee Brewers were only three back and had just left town on the heels of a 7-6 win courtesy of a ninth-inning grand slam by Ryan Braun. The Washington Nationals still figured heavily in the wild-card race. That's four teams for three slots, and one of them would end the season in an unhappy place.

The Cardinals weren't supposed to be a part of this mix. Not after a 44-44 first half. But they caught fire and put themselves in position to compete for their first division crown since 2015 -- an epoch on the St. Louis baseball timescale. Three straight seasons had come and gone without a playoff appearance, though the Redbirds hadn't exactly bottomed out.

"We've only played one game in which we were [already] eliminated," Cardinals chief executive John Mozeliak noted. "Last year, the last game of the year."

Following the Brewers into St. Louis were those Nationals, who had their trio of aces lined up: Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and St. Louis native and former Missouri Tiger Max Scherzer. Then, once the Cardinals navigated that minefield, they would head off for four games at Wrigley Field, where they had lost all six times they'd played this season. Sure, this St. Louis team had played its way into contention. But the week ahead could either cement its quest, or end it. The story of the Cardinals' season had not yet been written. At the outset of the week, no one knew what kind of story it ultimately would be.

"We want to play all comers," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. "We enjoy the competition. It is all about how we compete."

Here's a spoiler: Shildt is really the protagonist in this story and he's a very unlikely one. First, he's unlikely in that he's a rare big league manager who didn't play the sport professionally. He doesn't look like a ballplayer, to be sure, but more like the before version of Captain America, though he did play college ball. He's also unlikely because he's soft-spoken, sincere, genuinely nice and the epitome of a company man. He began his career with the organization as a part-time coach in the mid-2000s and worked his way up the ladder little by little. He has a message on the wall of his office across from the Cardinals' clubhouse: "Stay Hungry & Have Faith." The "t" in faith is a cross. After he gives his postgame news conference in the Busch Stadium interview room, and the reporters trail behind him as he returns to his office, he always stops and holds the door open for the reporters until they've all passed through.

None of this means he was unlikely to succeed at his job. He's unlikely because he's just so normal, and if you were sketching a main character in a work of imagination, that's not how you'd draw him up.

But you can't escape Shildt's effect on what the Cardinals have done this year. He preaches a mantra that he probably picked up from a book on corporate leadership -- "normalized excellence" -- and ever since Opening Day in Milwaukee, all he ever does is preach about each day, about improving through good habits and emulating the processes of those who have demonstrated success. During spring training, he trotted big names from other sports like Dabo Swinney and Zach Johnson through camp.

It's not a sexy approach, but the results are self-evident. And not just the wins, of which there have been plenty since Shildt took over for Mike Matheny last season.

More than the victories is that when you spend a few days around the Cardinals, you get the same kind of responses from his players as you get from him -- even from the veterans like Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright and Paul Goldschmidt, not to mention the organizationally developed younger players who encountered Shildt during their rise to the majors. The sentiments might be cliched at best, or the most banal sort of corporatized catch-phrasing at worst. But you can't say those sentiments have proved to be hollow.

"Right now, we're going to play like we're dead even," Wainwright said during the week. "We have to go out and win every single game. That's where our mindset is going to be. That's the way it is right now and we're going to stay right there."

The week ahead would put Shildt's messaging to its ultimate test. St. Louis' playoff probabilities, per Baseball-Reference.com, stood at 91% to get in, 68% to win the division.

Monday, Sept. 16: For starters

Dakota Hudson has been a rookie sensation for the Cardinals in a very un-2019 sort of way. He wins games without racking up the strikeouts. His walk rate is a little high. He's a sinkerballer, the type that isn't in vogue, and relies on the defense behind him. In other words, he's not analytics-friendly, and when he squared off against Strasburg, he was going against a prototype of the current preferred starting pitcher.

That's one of the things that mark the 2019 Cardinals and how they win, so it made perfect sense that St. Louis took the opener 4-2 even though Hudson and his bullpen combined for exactly one strikeout. It was his 16th win of the season. Recent Cardinals playoff teams seem to always have a stud rookie starter and Hudson is the latest.

Hudson's 16 wins are the most by a rookie since Justin Verlander won 17 in 2006 and the most by a Redbirds rookie since Harvey Haddix won 20 in 1953. All of this talk about wins is awfully old school, of course, but that's the thing with Shildt's Cardinals: While they do not shun analytics, they also don't ignore the more traditional aspects of team building. Hudson's success is as much a product of his team's approach as it is his own effectiveness, which has been considerable.

When Shildt took over, fixing the defense was his top priority. Long a point of pride for the Cardinals, performance on that side waned periodically during Matheny's tenure.

"Mike Shildt has a very, very high baseball IQ," Mozeliak said. "He knew there were strategically things we had to do differently. When you think about last year's offseason, [defense] is what he and his group decided to focus on. Obviously, working on defense and having a strategy for that is important.

"Adding Paul Goldschmidt -- that also helped in a big way. All of a sudden, all three infielders could look at first, look at it a little differently, have the confidence to throw over there. And he's really shored it up with Shildty and our staff's strategy."

The Cardinals' defense hasn't just gotten better -- it's become elite. St. Louis is closing in on franchise records for fewest errors and best fielding percentage.

The defense isn't the only thing that has changed under Shildt. The Cardinals have returned to the top tier in base stealing as well, a part of the game that nearly died under Matheny, much to the chagrin of longtime St. Louis fans. With 112 steals -- and only 29 times caught -- the Cardinals lead the National League and already have their most thefts since 1999. In the series-opening win against the Nationals, St. Louis swiped four bags.

"There's no question that our ability to run the bases has an effect in and of itself," Shildt said. "You get to scoring position, you get to third, that part is good. And it never takes anything away from our hitters. It puts our hitters in better position, scoring position, the opportunity to drive in runs. But I think the pressure that it puts on, I think we have a very healthy reputation from our opponents for having to honor our running game. They have to be on point with every single thing they're doing."

Playoff probabilities after Monday: 92% to get in; 70% to win the Central.

Tuesday, Sept. 17: Setback

The Cardinals struggled against Corbin and his dangerous slurvy slider, continuing a pattern of struggling against "soft" pitches this season. Washington evened the series with a 6-2 win behind Corbin's strong outing (and a big game at the plate from Howie Kendrick, who has always abused the Cardinals' starter that night, Miles Mikolas).

If you lump together breaking pitches, changeups and other soft secondary offerings, St. Louis' .580 OPS is the worst in the majors. That, as much as anything, explains why the Cardinals' top-line offensive percentages this season are pedestrian.

"When you look at our club from a purely offensive standpoint, it's a bit of a head-scratcher why we are where we are," Mozeliak said. "But part of how you can define that is run prevention, which we're very good at. Taking the extra 90 feet, we're very good at -- which OPS doesn't capture all the time. Overall, that's been the DNA of this club."

Among those whose offensive numbers have fallen short of forecasts is first-year Cardinal Paul Goldschmidt who, even in a down season, has 32 homers and 77 walks. He's also had a big effect on the team defense, as noted before, and has been a positive on the bases and in the clubhouse. Goldschmidt embodies the urgency this year's Redbirds have dealt with since spring training. His acquisition was very much a win-now move, though the extension he signed during spring training means "now" will last for more than one season.

Goldschmidt is in an interesting spot. He'd spent his entire career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, a nouveau franchise of which he was arguably the face. The reception he received Monday night in his return there was evidence of that, then he went out and hit his 100th career homer at Chase Field.

But Goldschmidt is a Cardinal now and the list of franchise faces is a long one. Even at his own position -- first base -- he's following in the footsteps of legends such as Johnny Mize, Jim Bottomley, Albert Pujols, Mark McGwire, Keith Hernandez and even Stan Musial, who played regularly at the position some years. Every day when Goldschmidt walks into the Cardinals' clubhouse, there is a stenciled sign on the wall above his locker with Musial's words, "I love to play this game of baseball. I love putting on this uniform."

"I've been pretty fortunate to be part of two organizations that are different," Goldschmidt told ESPN.com earlier this season. "Both have really cool things about them. In Arizona, they won the World Series really quickly in 2001 as an expansion franchise. It's something really unique. Being in Arizona, one of the newer franchises in sports, you could be the first player in the organization to do something.

"Here, the tradition and the history of this organization is something that's talked about from the moment you step in the door. Here, when you're looking back at more than 100 years, you're like, 'Man, that's before my grandfather.'"

With that history comes expectation. The Cardinals have won 23 pennants, tied for the third most among all franchises (and just one behind the Dodgers) and 11 World Series, more than anyone except for the Yankees. The history buys loyalty, but it also carries the burden of expectation. It means fans get impatient after three non-playoff seasons, and when they feel like the team is not being aggressive enough in the transaction markets.

"As I always say, St. Louis is very demanding," Mozeliak said. "Because they expect winning. And we're blessed. We have an incredible fan base. They show up, they support us. We don't envision having a 95-loss season, because we're going to keep trying to solve this."

Playoff probabilities after Tuesday: 88% to get in; 66% to win the Central.

Wednesday, Sept. 18: The Cardinal Way

After the Cardinals beat Scherzer and the Nationals 5-1, there was some disagreement whether it was the "Tommy Edman Game" or the "Adam Wainwright Game" among the gathered media. It was of course both. Wainwright held Washington to one run in seven innings, continuing a career resurgence after, frankly, looking like toast by the end of 2018. He struck out only three but still outpitched Scherzer, who allowed five runs over 6⅔ innings and probably pitched to a couple of batters too many because Washington is short in high-leverage relief options.

Back in 2016, former Cubs catcher Miguel Montero remarked how the Cardinals always seem to have players you've never heard of, but you knew they would be good. He likened them to "robots" and he's right. The Cardinals have a way they want players to play and the ones who adapt to it end up in the majors, usually without a lot of accompanying fanfare. The latest in-house product to emerge from anonymity to provide huge production for a contending team is Edman. Edman, 24, was a gradual riser through the system and before the season was ranked as the Cardinals' No. 12 prospect by Baseball America. He has gone on to knock Matt Carpenter out of the every-day lineup.

"We never want to cap guys," Shildt said. "We got a good sense of what Tommy could do in spring training. To his credit, he carried it over into Memphis and just kept playing the game."

Play it he has. Edman has carried on the decade's St. Louis tradition of rookies providing veteran-level production.

"Our strength has always been our pipeline," Mozeliak said. "We draft well, we develop well. That's when we have the most success. I think the last couple of years, we've tried to backfill through free agency. I just don't feel like we've hit it perfectly for what we need to do. And, look, the competitors to the north [Cubs and Brewers] have gotten better. Cincinnati is on the upswing. Our division has gotten better."

Edman homered off Scherzer, stroked an RBI single and threw out a runner at home plate from right field for his first career outfield assist. He then moved to third base later in the game; and later in the week, after Kolten Wong injured his hamstring, he took over at second base.

"Smart player," Shildt said. "This is an adjustment league, and everybody is paying attention to you. If you don't understand that people are going to make adjustments, you're going to be in trouble."

Playoff probabilities after Wednesday: 94% to get in; 80% to win the Central.

Thursday, Sept. 19: Jack goes to Wrigley

The consensus among pundits prior to the trade deadline was that the Cardinals needed to snag a No. 1 starter, as if such a thing were easy to do. Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler and even Zack Greinke were all floated at various times in the rumor mill. The Cardinals were treading water around the .500 mark, but with the Brewers and Cubs also having tepid first halves, the division was still well within reach. Add an ace to an underachieving rotation and then perhaps it would all fall into place. That and the fact that St. Louis has been quiet at the deadline in recent seasons added to the considerable external pressure to get something done.

Then the end of July came and went: crickets.

"I understood the pressure of what people wanted to see happen," Mozeliak said. "It's not to say we didn't explore trying to find pitching. But the types of deals we were hearing were just not very attractive to us."

Nevertheless, the Cardinals actually did acquire an ace at midseason. His name is Jack Flaherty.

Flaherty's second-half ERA is the best in the history of the Cardinals during the live ball era, covering a full century. Second best: Bob Gibson's 1.19 mark in 1968, the year of the pitcher. Flaherty's ascension has indeed put the rest of the rotation into focus. Flaherty, Hudson, Wainwright, Mikolas and Michael Wacha have combined to post a 3.17 ERA since the break, tied with the Mets for the best rotation mark in the NL. Only the Indians (3.10) have done better across the majors.

"The one person who was going to get the most opportunity should we not do anything was Michael Wacha. And he's certainly has made the most of this second chance, if you will," Mozeliak said. "He's pitched very well. Overall, our rotation has just stepped up in a way that has just defined our second half."

The Cardinals' pitching in general has been outstanding since Shildt took over.

This was different, though. This was Wrigley Field, with the Cubs just three games back. St. Louis had dropped all six at the Friendly Confines. And it was Chicago, not St. Louis, that carried with it the recent pedigree of late- and postseason success. The stands would be rocking. It was a harsher glare than the younger Cardinals, including Flaherty, had experienced so far.

"It definitely was a tough atmosphere down there," Flaherty said afterward. "I've never been in that kind of situation before."

You wouldn't know it to watch him pitch. Pay attention: Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals right-handed pitcher, is an absolute ace, a bona fide No. 1 starter who matches up with anyone a Redbirds opponent wants to pit against him. You might not have noticed this because it's come about quite suddenly, but this sparkling turn of events could carry a number of ramifications when the calendar flips to October.

How do we know Flaherty is an ace? He keeps doing what aces do and he keeps on doing it even as the stakes climb higher with every passing day. The Cardinals took that crucial series opener on Thursday, beating the Cubs 5-4. Chicago generated the early buzz with Joe Maddon's last-second lineup shuffle that sent a few dozen sportswriters scrambling about 25 minutes before the first pitch. That move, which inserted Anthony Rizzo into the leadoff spot days before he was supposed to even be out of the walking boot he was wearing to nurse his sprained ankle, ratcheted up an already-raucous atmosphere at Wrigley. Then of course Rizzo homered, going deep off Flaherty in the third, just the fifth long ball the big righty has allowed in 13 starts since the All-Star break.

"They needed a little bit of a jolt there," Flaherty said. "You could see he wasn't moving too well there. He put a good swing on the ball, did what he could. I saw him come out and stretching. I knew they were kind of doing something. I was warming up out in the bullpen, up on the TV it said he was in the lineup. So I was like 'all right.' Went over him real quick. We've faced him before."

But if that move was supposed to be the kind of storybook narrative that would spring the Cubs to a crucial victory, Flaherty authored a very different kind of tale. One that he dictated from stem to stern, dispatching the Cubs with a dominance that almost smacked of inevitability. This, too, tells us that Flaherty has ascended to acedom.

"He's unbelievable," Edman said. "I can't imagine there's a better pitcher in baseball right now. He's just been so dominant the entire second half. You just know he's going to dominate every single time he goes out there."

All told, Flaherty went eight innings, allowing three hits, one Rizzo's homer, while striking out eight. He threw a season-high 118 pitches, his last one a 98 mph four-seamer to induce pinch hitter Victor Caratini to hit an easy roller to shortstop. Flaherty strode off the mound, knowing his work was done, and was greeted with a hug from future Hall of Fame catcher Molina.

"If you've seen Jack pitch, you've seen a version of this," Shildt said. "You're just seeing it more consistently now. You're seeing conviction with his fastball. You're seeing command with his fastball. And you're seeing the ability to hit with his slider and his curveball. He's in control of everything he's doing."

As for Flaherty, maybe it's just in his nature to be unfazed by such surroundings. Or maybe it's the company he has kept -- he was once on the same high school pitching staff as Max Fried of the Braves and Lucas Giolito of the White Sox. All three became first-round draft picks. Whatever it is, Flaherty seemed completely unimpressed with an outing that had everybody else mooning in admiration.

"Every one of our starters, we treat every game like it's Game 7," Flaherty said. "If we're able to do that, we're going to keep ourselves right where we need to be."

Alas, Flaherty did not get the win. Closer Carlos Martinez struggled and the Cubs rallied to tie the score with three in the ninth. This, too, did not rattle the Cardinals' stoic demeanor. Carpenter took Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel deep in the 10th, and St. Louis seized the series opener. It was a cathartic moment for a player who was in the running at one point for NL MVP last season, but has slumped so badly in 2019 that his every-day role has been usurped by Edman. He, too, trumpets Shildt's message.

"I'm just doing my best to stay focused on the present," Carpenter said. "How can I help our team each day in whatever role that is? Really not worried about the past our how it's played out to this point. Just focus on what I can today, in each moment."

You imagine a morning mantra: Every day, and in every way, I strive to make myself a better Cardinal.

Playoff probabilities after Thursday: 97% to get in; 87% to win the Central.

Friday, Sept. 20: What's old is always new

The Cardinals have a very different team than the one that captured the franchise's last NL pennant in 2013. But they have two bridges to their most recent glorious era, which will ultimately be remembered as the Pujols era. Long after Albert Pujols departed for the West Coast, Wainwright and Molina are still playing pitch and catch. They've done it more than almost any duo in baseball history.

Most games started by same battery

1. 324, Mickey Lolich-Bill Freehan (Tigers, 1963 to 1975)

2. 316, Warren Spahn-Del Crandall (Braves, 1949 to 1963)

3. 306, Red Faber-Ray Schalk (White Sox, 1914 to 1926)

4. 283, Don Drysdale-John Roseboro (Dodgers 1957 to 1967)

5. 282, Red Ruffing-Bill Dickey (Yankees 1930 to 1946)

6. 270, Steve Rogers-Gary Carter (Expos, 1975 to 1984)

7. (tie) 264, Bob Lemon-Jim Hegan (Indians, 1946 to 1957)

7. (tie) 264, Adam Wainwright-Yadier Molina (Cardinals, 2006 to 2019)

They moved into that second-place tie on Monday in Arizona. Wainwright is a free agent after the season, so there's no guarantee that they'll have a chance to move even further up the ladder. But not only have they both been stalwarts on a number of strong teams over the years -- they've both played for only one sub-.500 team -- they are both essential to the Cardinals' push to the postseason right here and now. They rank among the Cardinals immortals:

Career bWAR leaders

1. Stan Musial, 128.2
2. Rogers Hornsby, 91.4
3. Bob Gibson, 89.1
4. Albert Pujols, 86.6
5. Ozzie Smith, 65.9
6. Ken Boyer, 58.1
7. Ted Simmons, 45.0
8. Curt Flood, 42.3
9. Dizzy Dean, 41.9
10. Lou Brock, 41.8
11. Adam Wainwright, 40.6
12. Yadier Molina, 39.9

Molina was the one who came up big on Friday, driving in both runs with a single in a 2-1 win against a Cubs team growing ever more anxious. Molina had three hits in total. At age 36, he has surpassed 100 starts behind the dish for St. Louis for a 15th straight season.

"Yadi, that's what he does," Shildt said. "He loves competition. I don't think [the situation] matters. I've witnessed him in spring training, I've witnessed him in the cage, whether it's just a little fun hitting competition among the guys. He's going to come out on top. He loves competition and enjoys playing in big moments."

The Cardinals' top-line rankings show how the club has gotten the most out of its chances under Shildt. Since he took over, St. Louis ranks 19th in average, with a .246 mark in 2019 that could be the team's worst since 1918. The Cardinals are 15th in on-base percentage, 21st in slugging and 20th in homers. But they are 11th in runs scored.

Some of that is their success on the basepaths. But a lot of it is situational. The Cardinals rank fifth in high-leverage WOBA (weighted on-base percentage) this season. They are 11.7% better in those spots than overall, a number exceeded in the majors by only the Miami Marlins, as unlikely as that seems.

"It's huge," Shildt said. "I don't know if it's a mantra, but we've talked about it a fair amount. We just want to get better as the game goes. We want to stay and gather information and get better as it goes. Every game has its own story, and we want to write our own story. It says a lot about how the guys focus, concentrate and stay present."

Of course, analytical types will say that this is unsustainable. But what if just maybe this is also an outgrowth of normalized excellence? Yeah, Shildt has us talking that way, too.

"A lot people have different thoughts about it," Shildt said. "Some analytical people say, and I understand, it's a small sample size. It's relative to opportunity. I can tell you this: One thing that I appreciate about our guys, our guys want that at-bat. And our guys look to slow it down."

Playoff probabilities after Friday: 99% to get in; 92% to win the Central.

Saturday, Sept. 21: A classic

Saturday's game was the longest in Wrigley Field history, and it was amazing. Every theme of the Cardinals' season was on display. Come-from-behind stubbornness, with back-to-back homers on the first two pitches Kimbrel threw, one by Molina, the other by DeJong. Sparkling defense. Clutch relief after Hudson was pulled early for a pinch hitter. And though the win, combined with results elsewhere, put the Cardinals in position to clinch a playoff berth, the postgame comments were almost belligerent in refusing to consider the larger context.

"We are trying to win it one inning at a time, one pitch at a time," DeJong said. "Slowing it way down. That's all we can do really. It's nice to think about the celebration and getting in. But we're not there yet. In due time. For the time being, we're just here, nowhere else to be, just enjoying each other's company and playing ball."

Although Shildt was hesitant to discuss the possible ramifications of the next day's game, he didn't need to be prodded when it came to praising his team and expressing his fondness for the whole darned bunch. He rarely does need to be prodded on that topic.

"As much as this group invests every day," Shildt said. "And you invest in something bigger than you, that means you care. And when you care, that means you fight. And that's what this team does. It cares and fights. Cares for each other, cares for us to compete and win baseball games. I'm proud of this group, but I'm not surprised. That's the DNA of this team."

There were a lot of St. Louis fans in Chicago over the weekend and they were loud enough to be heard, especially as the series progressed and the climatic moments piled up in the Cardinals' favor. Attendance numbers have remained high in St. Louis, as you'd expect in that market, but the unofficial no-show count has also remained considerable as the fans grudgingly buy into a team that came together all of a sudden. The enthusiasm of Redbirds fans in and around Wrigley over the weekend might be the best evidence yet of a fan base ready to really rev things up in October. And under Shildt, it's not just that the Cardinals are winning -- it's how they are winning, with defense, baserunning, starting pitching and timely hitting. It's a style that plays on the banks of the Mississippi, as it always has.

"If you think about the identity of this organization back in the '80s," Mozeliak said, "it was referred to as Whiteyball. You hear that when you're in the grocery store, or out in public. I do think there's a generation that has great appreciation for how this team plays.

"I mean, baseball is changing. Hitters are making tradeoffs -- home runs for strikeouts. A lot people don't find the game as enjoyable as it was two or three decades ago. I'm not one of those who subscribes to 'baseball was better in the '80s versus today' because I think today is still a very exciting product. But I do think the Cardinals do take some pride in knowing that we haven't sold out everything just to look like modern baseball. I think Shildty and his staff deserve a lot of credit for putting an entertaining product out there."

Playoff probabilities after Saturday: more than 99% to get in; 95% to win the Central.

Sunday, Sept. 22: Celebrate good times ... sort of!

The last game at Wrigley was a somber one for the locals in Chicago because it had become apparent to all what it almost certainly meant. Barring a nearly unprecedented sequence of events, the Cubs won't play there again in 2019. It was a 3-2 Cardinals win, another late St. Louis rally, another one-run victory. Four of them in four days. And with that, the Cardinals swept a four-game set at Wrigley for the first time since May 1921, a series that featured 10 Rogers Hornsby hits in what was then called Cubs Park. In other words, it hadn't happened in a very long time.

You might think that the Cardinals would delight as much in squashing the hopes of their rival as they did in their own accomplishment. But that, too, is outside Shildt's message.

"We don't care about anyone else," Molina had said on Friday, on the weekend he became the active hits leader among visiting players at Wrigley (219). "It's just us. We came over here to play one game at a time. If we don't win, we don't care who we're facing."

The win indeed clinched St. Louis' first postseason spot since 2015 -- the long red nightmare is over! This is a team with its sights set higher, though. There was only a mild celebration, as the media was held out of the clubhouse longer than usual. There were some glasses of champagne here and there, the remnants of a team toast. But there was no spewing beer or bubbly, no one clad in goggles or rain ponchos. Just guys showering, handling their media stuff, running off to catch the bus for the airport and a flight to Phoenix. Some wore T-shirts that said "2019 Postseason. Let's get wild."

"Just a little celebration, just getting back to the playoffs," Edman said. "Hopefully the real celebration comes the next few days when we clinch the division."

That will happen soon enough for a team that had weathered its toughest prolonged test to the tune of a 6-1 week. During the course of the seven days, if the media had not kept asking about the bigger picture, in the clubhouse you never would have known what the team had accomplished. Was this, too, part of the central message that Shildt got a team mixed with veterans and young players alike to buy into way back in February?

"Normalized excellence," Shildt said. "It's about getting better every day. We want to appreciate the successes we have, but ultimately, when we have success, we want more. It's a hungry group. We want them to stay hungry and keep moving forward. That's our plan."

Argh! It's all so corporate! But it's also so effective, when you see results in the standings that simply cannot be refuted. The same approach the team carried into each day in Jupiter, Florida, in the spring was the same one it used to sweep the Cubs in the final days of summer. It was an approach that meant no lineup of opposing aces, and no hostile opposing venue, was going to get in the way.

"It's huge," Edman said. "We know that we're capable of beating any pitcher at this point. I think it's great to have faced these teams late in the season. Kind of gets us ready for the playoffs."

All along, the week wasn't so much a test as it was a steppingstone. The Cardinals might have known it all along, if only they were willing to look to tomorrow. Of course, if they had, October baseball might not be returning to a city where it has more often than not been a fixture.

Playoff probabilities after Sunday: playoff berth clinched; 96% to win the Central.

BARRE, Vt. – The 57th Vermont Milk Bowl presented by Northfield Savings Bank is just days away, and one of the biggest stars of North American short track racing will be there.

Georgia’s Andrew “Bubba” Pollard is gearing up for his maiden voyage at Barre’s Thunder Road on Sept. 28-29, as he attempts to bring the famed Milk Bowl trophy down south.

Pollard has won nearly every major Super Late Model and Pro Late Model race there is to win over the past decade. He triumphed in the first two Canadian Short Track Nationals, banking $75,000 CAD for his victory earlier this month.

Pollard is also a previous winner of the Oxford 250, the All-American 400, the Rattler 250, the Snowflake 100, and many other nationally-known events, along with boasting multiple track and touring series championships.

Pollard remarked over the winter that the Milk Bowl was on his list of races he’d like to run, which led to a deal with 2010 Milk Bowl winner Joey Polewarczyk and his team to try and score a kiss with a Vermont dairy cow.

“I’ve been following the race for the last couple years, and it really fascinating to me how the race was run with the segments, getting points for each one, inverting the field, and things like that,” Pollard said. “It’s really unique the way the race is run. And there’s also the cow! I’ve gotten to meet some of the guys like Patrick Laperle that have been up there racing and talked to them about the race.

“I’m excited about it. I’m looking forward to doing it, and I think it’s a cool event.”

Pollard expects a challenge when he arrives at Thunder Road. He’ll be stepping into an American-Canadian Tour late model for the first time against drivers with decades of success on the Barre high banks.

He also admitted he may have to tweak his driving style to adapt to the “short sprint” format of three 50-lap segments, but Pollard has been doing his homework in recent months to get ready for when he rolls onto the track.

“I watched last year’s race on MAVTV a couple months ago,” Pollard noted. “We sat down and watched it, we studied the segments, and we studied the guys that have won a lot of races up there. I watched a lot of videos on the internet to try to prepare myself for the track. I’ve also talked to guys like Patrick, Joey, and a lot of other guys to try and prepare myself the best I can for when we get up there. You can kind of know what to expect, but you really don’t know until you get there.”

“As far as the car, that’s kind of the easy part,” Pollard continued. “You’ve got the same feel you’re looking for in each car, even though it’s different. Just getting more familiar with the racetrack and how the race is run is going to be the biggest thing – and also who you’re racing against and the guys you’re racing around. It’s going to be important to learn all that throughout the weekend as well.

“I’ll really lean on Joey and those guys to get as much information and feedback as I can to carry on into the weekend.”

Pollard isn’t the only one excited about his impending trip to Barre.

Drivers and fans have been buzzing about the modern short track legend’s arrival and are eager to see what he can do in the Northeast’s biggest Late Model event.

“He’s the People’s Champion of short-track racers,” Tom Carey III said. “He just loves to short-track race, and he doesn’t really care about moving on up with the big boys. That’s always been my whole thing, too – I never really wanted to do anything more than run short track races in New England at the late model level. And he’s a big, heavy, tall boy like me, so it makes me feel good that he’s whupping everybody’s butt down South!”

“I think it’s great that somebody like Bubba Pollard, who has had success almost everywhere he goes, is coming to the Milk Bowl,” Tyler Cahoon added. “At the same time, these cars are a little bit different than the super late model he’s used to racing.

“He’s also going to be driving somebody else’s car, which is always a little bit different … but if you put a good, talented driver behind the wheel of a good car, I think they can race anywhere.”

While Pollard has the ultimate goal of winning like he does at every event, he knows it will be a tall task. He’ll be going up against some of the modern greats of Thunder Road and ACT such as Jason Corliss, Scott Dragon, Scott Payea, Polewarczyk, and Laperle.

If he did triumph in the Milk Bowl, he would be the first true “invader” to do so since Butch Lindley in 1977. Regardless, he hopes to make the most of his experience this weekend.

“I’ve been traveling a lot for so many years racing in different places all over the country,” Pollard said. “I’ve watched some of the races on TV and online, and to see that many people and the fans (at Thunder Road) is incredible. I’ve heard the place is packed out and it draws a great crowd. I’m really looking forward to racing against some new guys – some guys I’ve heard of for a long time, but never gotten the opportunity to race with.

“I’m looking forward to that, and I’m looking forward to the fans, getting to meet new people, and hopefully we can have a good showing and make some new fans.”

CONCORD, N.C. — On the strength of his 15th World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series triumph of the season, Brad Sweet remained atop the National Sprint Car Rankings for the third week in a row.

Sweet, who won Saturday night at Dodge City (Kan.) Raceway Park, leads the nation with a 3.154 average finish in 67 starts. Sweet has 16 overall feature victories.

Sweet’s fellow World of Outlaws drivers David Gravel (3.380) and Donny Schatz (3.40) complete the top three.

Pennsylvania star Danny Dietrich, with a national-best 75 starts, is fourth in the standings and WoO veteran Daryn Pittman is fifth.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions point leader Aaron Reutzel grabbed his 16th victory (15th with the All Stars) Sunday night at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway and jumped into the top 10 for the first time this season in eighth position.

Dietrich leads the Eastern region on the strength of 14 victories, while other regional leaders are Buddy Kofoid (Great Lakes), Billy Balog (Great Plains), Logan Schuchart (Northwest), Shane Golobic (West), Jacob Patton (Mid-America), Donny Schatz (Northwestern) and Carl Bowser. (Ohio-PA).

One hundred and 27 drivers have combined to win 353 features run through Sept. 22, with 703 drivers participating.