PITTSBURGH — The five teams involved in the race for the second wild-card berth in the National League playoff picture hardly can be considered to be “racing.”
Before Friday night’s games began, Cincinnati, San Diego, the Cardinals, Philadelphia and New York all had played a total of 15 games — three apiece —since the end of play Sunday. Those teams had won two games — one by second wild-card leader Cincinnati and one by the Cardinals. San Diego, Philadelphia and the Mets each had lost all three games it had played.
So, when action, as it were, resumes Friday night, the Cardinals still trail Cincinnati by 4 ½ games and San Diego by 2 1/2 while the Phillies and Mets both have fallen under .