Cardinals NL Central Advantage Becomes Insurmountable With Javy Baez Injury

The Chicago Cubs entered Saturday 2.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.

On paper, making up that ground is certainly achievable, but then the news came out that Cubs shortstop Javier Baez suffered a hairline fracture in his thumb from a slide attempt on Sunday against Milwaukee.

Losing Javier Baez is a killer for the Cubs. Was going to be tough to pass the Cards anyway but now it will be twice as tough. The teams behind Chicago in the wild card have a lot more hope now, too.
— Robert Brender (@robertbrender) September 7, 2019

Baez will get reevaluated on Monday and the Cubs will have a timeline for his return, but he's going to miss some time, which might be all the time the Cardinals need to lock this division up. There's also a real chance that Baez misses the remainder of the regular season.

Chicago has to be thankful they have a 2.5-game lead in the second Wild Card spot. Obviously, they have to hold on for dear life and hope the Arizona Diamondbacks slow down.

Of course, on top of the Baez, they just lost closer Craig Kimbrel to the injured list. He hasn't exactly been dominant since signing with the Cubs, but he gives them a better chance than most of the options in the pen.

So, the Cardinals’ Schedule From Here on Out … Looks Kinda Brutal? https://t.co/482KaC1ROb (via BN)
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 7, 2019

St. Louis does have a tough schedule over the final three weeks, including seven games against the Cubs, three against the Nationals and three against the Diamondbacks, but their offense has picked it up and their pitching staff has quietly been dominant.

And the Redbirds haven't suffered a brutal injury to one of their best players.