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Hochman: 'Let's go!' For the first-place Cardinals, the playoffs start now

While Fowler’s catch was resplendent — it preserved a Cardinals’ 5-1 lead in Wednesday’s eighth inning — the revelry was revealing.

And really, winning this “seven-game series” against the Cubs is more important than winning a National League Division Series. See, the Cards must make the playoffs. It would be an embarrassment to miss the postseason for the fourth-straight season. To get in, most scenarios suggest they’d have to win at least four of these Cubs games. If they go on to win in an NLDS, that would be fantastic. But if they lose an NLDS, at least the 2019 Cardinals were a playoff team.