Magic Number: 5

The Cardinals' magic number this season is 5, as that is the number of wins remaining to take home the 11th World Series championship.They have a chance to win their 18th NL pennant this evening in Milwaukee, where they have won 5 of their last seven at Miller Park.Bernie notes:The Cardinals were, and are, the top-hitting road team in the majors this season. They rank first in MLB in runs per road game (5.14), road batting average (.277), road on-base percentage (.341) and extra-base hits. They rank second in road slugging percentage (.443) and fourth in homers per road game (1.15.)Moreover, the Cardinals have a respectable starting-pitching ERA of 3.98 on the road, which puts them sixth in the NL.The Cardinals became a more formidable road unit after GM John Mozeliak acquired significant bullpen help in the trade that sent outfielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto. Relievers Octavio Dotel and Marc Rzepczynski came to St. Louis as part of the deal, and Mozeliak later signed free-agent ...