on the National League playoffs from Opening Day. But in the final week of the regular season http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-yu-darvish-jersey , just how the two-time defending Central Division champions will factor into the postseason picture remains unclear.With five games remaining starting with Wednesday’s divisional test against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cubs are attempting to hold off the Milwaukee Brewers for the division title, but also can’t lose sight of the St. Louis Cardinals, who are hoping to join the postseason push as the third representative from the Central Division.The Cubs still remain the front-runner despite carrying a two-game losing streak into Wednesday following a 6-0 loss to the Pirates on Tuesday. The loss, coupled with the Brewers’ 12-4 victory over the Cardinals, leaves the Cubs’ lead at just a half a game as Chicago once again was unable to inch closer to a division title.Article continues below ...Despite that and a second straight night when the offense sputtered, the Cubs aren’t concerning with themselves with shrinking margins as they understand the level of competition they’re facing down the stretch.“I just want to point out we have the best record in the National League and we haven’t clinched yet,” Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward told reporters Tuesday, according to the team’s official website. “That shows you how good our division is. That shows you how good this league is. I feel like it’s time to pay respect to how good these other teams have been playing baseball.”As much as the Cubs hope to secure another division title, they realize that they could still find their ways into the playoffs as a wild card should they fail to put away the Brewers. That would set up a much different scenario, but one Cubs manager Joe Maddon said his team will deal with if necessary.“I hope we avoid that,” Maddon told reporters on Tuesday, according to MLB.comJose Quintana (13-11, 4.11 ERA) will start for the Cubs. Quintana is hoping to bounce back from consecutive losses, including in his last outing against the Chicago White Sox. Quintana allowed five runs and nine hits over five innings Paul Konerko Jersey , which snapped a string of six straight starts in which he didn’t allow more than two earned runs. Quintana is 1-1 with a 2.74 ERA in four career starts against Pittsburgh.Ivan Nova gets the start for Pittsburgh. Nova (9-9, 4.01) is 2-0 with a no-decision in three starts this month and has surrendered just two earned runs in those three starts and has struck out 15. Nova looks to continue his run of good fortune he has enjoyed during his career against the Cubs as he is 4-2 with a 3.27 ERA in seven career starts.Nova was scheduled to make another start following Wednesday’s outing but the Pirates’ scheduled makeup game against the Miami Marlins on Monday was canceled. That means that Nova will make his final start against the Cubs, which is an outing he looks forward to despite the fact the Pirates have nothing to play for.“I just want to go pitch,” Nova told reporters on Monday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “As long as you feel good, you want to keep pitching. A lot of guys are ready to go home now that we have been eliminated from the playoffs. I’m excited to have another chance to pitch (on Wednesday).” DENVER — The St. Louis Cardinals‘ long road winning streak came to a crashing halt Saturday night. Now they will try to win the rubber game of their series with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday and capture their ninth straight series.Two left-handers will start Sunday, Austin Gomber (3-0, 2.98) for the Cardinals against Tyler Anderson (6-6, 4.45).Article continues below ...The Rockies (71-58) erupted for a season-high eight runs on 10 hits in the eighth inning Saturday and blasted the Cardinals 9-1, just their fifth loss in 23 games this month and first by more than one run.Cardinals starter John Gant gave up one run in seven innings, a pinch-hit homer in the seventh by former Cardinal Matt Holliday. Rockies starter German Marquez pitched seven scoreless innings before the Cardinals tied the game in the eighth.“Just a good old-fashioned pitchers dual in a hitters ballpark,” Cardinals interim manager Mike Schildt said. “We went to the bullpen, and they’ve been great. One of those days. Those days are going to happen. We’re not going to think too much about it. Just move forward.”The Cardinals (72-58) saw their nine-game road winning streak ended. They had not won 10 straight road games since they set and tied the club record of 12 straight victories on the road in 1941 and 1944.The last time the Cardinals won more than eight straight series was 2009 when they won 10 in a row.Gomber made his major league debut June 2 and pitched one scoreless inning against Colorado in relief on Aug. 1 at St. Louis. This will be his second appearance against the Rockies, and he’ll be the first rookie left-hander for the Cardinals to start at Coors Field since Marco Gonzales made his major league debut there on June 25, 2014.The Cardinals have won all five of Gomber’s starts http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-carlos-rodon-jersey , and he is 2-0, 2.73 in those games, limiting opponents to a .216 batting average, .685 OPS and two home runs in 26 1/3 innings.Gomber was not involved in the decision Monday at Los Angeles, where he gave up two runs in five innings in St. Louis’ 5-3 win over the Dodgers.“He’s got weapons to pitch, obviously,” Shildt said. “He’s in attack mode most all the time. He’s a really good competitor. He’s developing a slider-cutter that’s helping him against the lefties a little bit more. He’s elevating with his fastball, throws to both sides of the plate, always has, really well. He’s got a good changeup. So, he’s got all the pitches to give us a quality start.”The Rockies have lost the past six games started by Anderson, who is 0-3, 6.88 in that stretch while allowing 10 home runs in 34 innings and an .876 OPS by opposing hitters. In his last start Tuesday against San Diego, Anderson allowed a season-high 10 hits, including two homers Nellie Fox Jersey , and four runs in 6 1/3 innings and lost 4-3.“It isn’t like he’s lacking his stuff,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “The location’s been bad. The changeup’s been pretty effective, but the fastball and the cutter have not been his norm. He’s the type of guy that has got to locate. His margin for error’s a little bit less than Marquez or Jon (Gray.) So, he’s got to locate the ball. But he’s able to do that.”Anderson, who has made eight starts since he last won July 4 against San Francisco, has yielded 26 home runs in 147 2/3 innings, tied for the most in the National League this season.He’s 0-1, 4.15 in two starts against the Cardinals, including one this year. Anderson had a no-decision in Colorado’s 5-4 loss in 10 innings at St. Louis on July 30, allowing three hits, three walks and four runs in six innings.