Cardinals soar into playoff position behind ageless arms

NEW YORK (AP) — On the morning of the trade deadline in late July, the St. Louis Cardinals were a .500 team sitting 7 1/2 games outside a playoff spot.

Even with new slugger Nolan Arenado at third base, a season that began with big expectations appeared to be slipping away.

Their next move? While other National League contenders added stars such as Max Scherzer, Kris Bryant and Javier Báez, the Redbirds went for a pair of struggling starting pitchers in their late 30s: Jon Lester and J.A. Happ.

That raised a lot of eyebrows, to put it mildly.

But seven weeks later, look how high these Cardinals have climbed.

Riding the ageless arm of Adam Wainwright atop a graybeard rotation, St. Louis has soared into postseason position with its recent surge. The confident Cardinals hold the second NL wild card by one game over San Diego heading into a pivotal three-game home series against the Padres this weekend.

“There's still something to be said for wisdom,” manager Mike Shildt explained.

After scoring 25 runs in a three-game road sweep of the New York Mets, the Cardinals (76-69) have won five straight and seven of eight.

Muscular outfielder Tyler O'Neill (26 homers, .876 OPS) from Canada has emerged as a dangerous No. 3 hitter between fellow thumpers Paul Goldschmidt and Arenado.

In the absence of injured ace Jack Flaherty, the 40-year-old Wainwright (16-7, 2.88 ERA) has pitched himself into the Cy Young Award conversation during a fountain-of-youth season. The veteran curveballer is 9-2 with a 2.02 ERA in his past 12 starts, going at least six innings every time.

Lester and Happ have hardly been so dominant since arriving. But they've pitched effectively for the most part and taken the ball on turn, providing consistency for an injury-ravaged staff and alleviating some of the...

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