Seung Hwan Oh and Brett Cecil each allowed a home run on Sunday that carried the Pirates over the Cardinals in Pittsburgh, keeping the Cardinals' playoff chances hanging by a thread entering the last week of the regular season. 

It had been a long time - a really long time - since the Cardinals started a game the way they did Saturday night as the Pirates scored eight runs in the first inning en route to the win in Pittsburgh. 

Trailing 3-2 going to the ninth inning, the Cardinals rallied for two runs to defeat the Pirates Friday night in Pittsburgh, their fourth consecutive win, as they kept their postseason hopes alive. 

Dexter Fowler had his fourth consecutive multiple-RBI game to lead the Cardinals over the Reds on Thursday night. They now trail the Rockies by just 1 1/2 games in the race for the second wild-card spot.

Luke Weaver has solid start; Matt Carpenter, Dexter Fowler  and Paul DeJong homer as the Cardinals beat the Reds Wednesday night, moving 2 1/2 games out of second wild-card spot behind the Rockies. 

Dexter Fowler homered to tie the game in the eighth inning Tuesday night before he and Paul DeJong both drove in runs in  the 10th to lead the Cardinals over the Reds in Cincinnati. 

An RBI single by former Cardinal Jason Heyward off Matt Bowman in the seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Cubs a sweep of the three-game series over the Cardinals Sunday at Wrigley Field. 

Any hopes the Cardinals had of getting closer to the Cubs in the NL Central race this weekend disappeared on Saturday when they could not solve Kyle Hendricks and lost again at Wrigley Field. 

A seventh-run sixth inning sent the Cubs to the win over the Cardinals on Friday at Wrigley Field, dropping the Cardinals four games behind the Cubs in the NLCentral with 15 games to play. 

In case you missed Rob Rains interview on Frank Cusumano's Press Box Show on Friday, click the audio player below: