The Cardinals are coming off their first season missing the postseason since 2010. They finished 2016 with a record of 86-76, 17.5 games out of first place.
The Cardinals came up just 1.0 game short of a wild-card spot (the Mets and Giants finished tied), despite winning their final four games of the season. The Cardinals just couldn’t get a big winning stretch together in 2016. They went 12-12 in April, 16-13 in May, 12-13 in June, 16-11 in July, 14-13 in August, and 16-14 in September/October. The Cardinals did have their 9th consecutive winning season, and have been above .