With the mathematical midpoint of the MLB season fast approaching, the division races are shaping up to be good ones. Surprising leaders have emerged in the AL and NL West, with the Rangers and Diamondbacks up front. Every team in the AL East is at least four games over .500. The big-spending Mets and Padres are both in fourth place in their respective divisions, facing uphill climbs to even clinch a wild-card spot after entering the season with World Series aspirations.

But the most fascinating race of all is in NL Central, which features one of the league’s biggest disappointments and a couple of its most pleasant surprises.

The Cardinals were the preseason favorites to win the division this year after posting a 93–69 record last season. But they’ve gotten off to a terrible start and are on pace for one of their worst seasons in franchise history. Even though they’ve won four in a row, the Cards are still 31–43. That’s a .419 winning percentage, which would translate to a record of 68–94 after season’s end. St. Louis hasn’t had a losing record since 2007 and has lost only 90 games three times since 1917.

It’s difficult to say what exactly is the Cardinals’ problem. Big free-agent acquisition Willson Contreras hasn’t hit well and was the subject of a brief uproar early last month when the team moved him out from behind the plate in favor of the even more offensively inept Andrew Knizner. The pitching hasn’t been great (St. Louis has the ninth-worst team ERA in the majors), especially the back end of the starting rotation. But there are bright spots. Paul Goldschmidt is still one of the best hitters around. Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar are pulling their weight offensively. Top prospect Jordan Walker, a 21-year-old outfielder, has flourished since being called back up to the majors earlier this month.

So what’s the issue? It might just come down to luck. The Cardinals have the fifth-worst record in the majors but only the 14th-worst run differential. They have a better run differential than the Marlins, which currently hold the top wild-card spot in the NL at 42–32. St. Louis’s Pythagorean win-loss record (which uses run differential to attempt to account for luck) is 36–38, suggesting that the team isn’t as bad as its actual record indicates. Its five-win difference between its actual record and Pythagorean record is tied for the biggest in the majors.

Speaking of bad luck, the Cardinals are unfortunate that their division competition is stronger than it’s been in years. The Reds, Pirates and Cubs are all having their best seasons in at least five years. And while Pittsburgh has lost eight in a row and 11 of its last 13, the rest of the division is getting hot and preventing St. Louis from gaining much ground in the standings. Chicago has won nine of its last 11, including a 4–0 win over the Pirates last night in which Marcus Stroman pitched seven scoreless innings to drop his ERA to an NL-best 2.28. Milwaukee rebounded from a recent six-game losing streak to win four of its last five.

The team to beat, though, is the Reds. Cincinnati currently holds a narrow half-game lead over the Brewers atop the division after winning 10 in a row and 13 of its last 15. Led by exciting young players such as the electrifying Elly De La Cruz, the Reds are seeking their first playoff berth in a 162-game season since 2013. It’s weird to see the Cardinals at the bottom of the standings, but it’ll be refreshing for fans to see new faces in the spotlight.

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Victor Wembanyama threw out the first pitch at the Yankees game last night. It didn’t go great, but as Emma Baccellieri explains, the first pitch is a minefield for almost everyone tasked with the “honor.”
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The top five...

… things I saw last night:

5. Victor Wembanyama’s first pitch at Yankee Stadium. When you see how small the ball looks in his hand, it’s easy to understand why he spiked it in the dirt. (He also took the subway to the game.)

4. The Giants’ second straight walk-off win (on a bases-loaded walk). They’ve now won nine in a row.

3. Manny Machado’s fluid play to step on third and throw home to nail a runner.

2. Arike Ogunbowale signing an autograph on her way off the court after an ejection.

1. TCU baseball coach Kirk Saarloos cutting his in-game interview short to argue a call.

SIQ

On this day in 1986, Bo Jackson announced his decision to sign an MLB contract with the Royals, surprisingly spurning which NFL team that had taken him with the No. 1 pick in the draft?

Buccaneers
Raiders
Rams
Seahawks

Yesterday’s SIQ: True or false: Former NFL running back Darren Sproles, who turned 40 on June 20, is the league’s all-time leader in games played among nonkickers 5'8" and shorter.

Answer: True. Sproles, who was listed at 5'6", is one of 79 players that short to play in the NFL—and one of just 28 since the end of World War II. While there have been 691 players listed at 5'8" or shorter, including Barry Sanders, none of them had his career longevity.

Sproles was listed at 5'7" at Kansas State, where he established himself as one of the best running backs in the nation. (He finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2003.) But when Sproles was measured at the NFL combine at a mere 5'6", several team employees in the room laughed when the measurement was read aloud, his father later recalled in a Sports Illustrated story.

Sproles slipped to the fourth round of the 2005 NFL draft, the 15th running back off the board at No. 130. But of the 22 running backs selected that year, only Frank Gore had more all-purpose yards in his career than Sproles.

Because of his size, Sproles was never going to be a featured back in the NFL. But he put together an impressive 14-year career by making himself valuable in a variety of ways, using his speed and agility to benefit teams as a runner, receiver and return man.

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