25Sep/083:42 PM

The final nail in the coffin…

By Vince Marotta

Photo: The Canadian Press

The Skinny: With the Los Angeles Dodgers possessing a magic number of one, you might figure that the Diamondbacks would play with renewed passion on Thursday and at least force L.A. to win the National League West on their own accord on Thursday night. That didn’t happen.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ big 3 of Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick and Troy Glaus were back in the lineup, and they led the Redbirds to a 12-3 laugher at Busch Stadium, eliminating the Diamondbacks, and handing the division to the Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks briefly took a 3-2 lead in the 4th inning on a two-run single by Mark Reynolds, but the Cardinals tied it up in the bottom of the 4th on an rbi triple by Cesar Izturis which scored Brendan Ryan. The Cards tacked on 2 in the 6th, 5 in the 7th and 2 more in the 8th on their way to the win.

St. Louis starter Joel Pineiro was solid, allowing only 3 hits and 3 runs in 7 innings for his 7th win of the year. The much-maligned Cardinal bullpen allowed only 1 hit in the final two innings.

The Big Three: Pujols, Ludwick and Glaus were back in Tony LaRussa’s lineup and wreaked havoc on the Diamondbacks. The trio combined to go 6 for 8 with 2 homers, 6 rbis and 6 walks. Diamondbacks’ pitching issued 9 walks and 17 hits in the game.

One for the record books: Pineiro struck out Arizona’s Mark Reynolds in the 2nd, putting Reynolds’ name in the record books for a dubious reason.

A non-winning season?: The Diamondbacks will need to sweep their last 3 games against Colorado to ensure a winning season.

MLB.com : Recap | Boxscore

Here’s what others are saying about the official elimination of the Diamondbacks…

D-Backs eliminated from playoff bid [AZCentral]

D-Backs’ postseason bubble bursts [East Valley Tribune]

Cardinals eliminate Diamondbacks from NL West [StL Today]

Dodgers clinch NL West title [L.A. Times]

The Diamondbacks return to Chase Field for a now meaningless three-game series against the Colorado Rockies starting Friday. Dan Haren will face Jason Hirsh in the opener starting at 6:40.