Early in the afternoon in Arizona the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse erupted as they watched the Cincinnati Reds walk off against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Their magic number to clinch the NL Central was now one and they just had to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona had other plans and now the division title is still on the line with one game to go.

The Pirates and Reds went back and forth all afternoon. Cincinnati got out to a 3-1 lead and held it until the fifth inning. The Pirates scored three in the top of the fifth only to see the Reds tie it up in the bottom of the inning. Andrew McCutchen singled home Gregory Polanco and scored on a Neil Walker triple in the seventh. John Holdzkom squandered the two-run lead when Todd Frazier homered in the bottom of the inning.

The game would go to extras where John Axford walked two and gave up a Chris Heisey single to load the bases. Ramon Santiago hit a walk-off grand slam off of left-hander Bobby LaFramboise. The celebration erupted immediately inside the Cards' clubhouse at Chase Field. They knew they had the chance to clinch the division.

It started bad for the Cardinals after the Diamondbacks hit back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the first. St. Louis tied the game in the top of the third and it stayed that way until the seventh. Mark Trumbo had the big blow with a three-run shot in the bottom of the seventh off of Seth Maness. It was Trumbo's second home run of the day and two of Arizona's 13 hits.

The Cardinals still have a one game lead in the NL Central, so if they win on Sunday they skip the Wild Card game that Pittsburgh will then host. Mike Matheny made it clear that Adam Wainwright was starting on Sunday no matter the outcome of Saturday's game. He will oppose Josh Collmenter, who has allowed five runs in 27.1 innings this month.

Before Friday's game with the Pirates, Reds' manager Bryan Price felt the need to explain his lineup, which was missing some keys guys, to Matheny. That should not be the case on Sunday when Johnny Cueto goes to the mound. Cueto is going for his 20th win of the season and his fifth against the Pirates. Gerrit Cole will be on the hill for the Pirates.

The Pirates game with the Reds could be over by the time the first pitch is thrown in Phoenix so everything could be decided by 4 P.M. However, should the Pirates win and the Cardinals lose they will play game 163 in St. Louis on Monday. It would be Shelby Miller or John Lackey against, most likely, Edinson Volquez on short rest.

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About the author
Doug Smith
Doug has a communications background that started with a local weekly newspaper as a high school junior. He has experience in both print and digital as a freelance writer. Doug has covered baseball, soccer, golf, tennis and hockey for three different blog networks. His last print assignment was as a Features editor for a regional newspaper in northwest PA. His personal interests include soccer, especially MLS and the German Bundesliga. He also likes to play tennis in his spare time. He appreciate your readership and welcomes any and all comments. Thank you.