3 major storylines to watch in MLB's do-or-die division series finales

Cardinals.
(Image credit: Scott Kane/Getty Images)

Only the New York Yankees have some time to relax after their Division Series sweep over the Minnesota Twins. For everyone else in the MLB playoffs, anxiety reigns. Here are the keys for the three remaining series' deciding games.

Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday at 5 p.m. E.T. on TBS — In a tightly-contested series, the Cardinals' sluggers, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and outfielder Marcell Ozuna, have carried the load. They're a combined 15 for 33 so far, with four home runs and seven doubles; Atlanta's pitching staff will have to contain them to move on. Meanwhile, Atlanta's middle-of-the-order bats — third baseman Josh Donaldson and first baseman Freddie Freeman — have been quiet. Outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and shortstop Dansby Swanson have picked them up from the top and bottom of the order, respectively, but Atlanta would like its corner infielders to get something going against St. Louis ace Jack Flaherty.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.