Cardinals clinch third consecutive division title, win 100th game, defeat Pirates

PITTSBURGH _ Fittingly, it a took a replacement to clinch the division.tmpplchld A season defined as much by the wins the Cardinals collected as the players they lost to injury along the way culminated Wednesday night with Tyler Lyons’ exceptional start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. One win against Pittsburgh away from claiming their third consecutive National League Central crown, the Cardinals received seven shutout innings from a lefty who just a week ago was trying to prove himself as a reliever.tmpplchld Thrust into a start as a replacement for injured right-hander Carlos Martinez, Lyons sped through the Pirates on the way to a 11-1 drubbing.tmpplchld The Cardinals, already in the postseason for the fifth consecutive season, secured a spot in the division series. They will face the winner of the Pirates-Cubs wild-card game next Wednesday. The Cardinals will have home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs, should they advance to a fifth consecutive NL championship series.tmpplchld The win Wednesday _ part of a split doubleheader _ was the Cardinals’ 100th of the season. They are the first team in baseball to win 100 games since the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies.tmpplchld This is the ninth time in club history that the Cardinals have won 100.tmpplchld Lyons faced the minimum through 6 2/3 innings thanks to two double plays. He held the Pirates to two hits, both singles, and did not allow a single baserunner to reach second base safely in his seven innings.tmpplchld Jason Heyward backed Lyons with a grand slam in the third inning. He reached base three times in his first four plate appearances, and he had two catches to aid Lyons. One was a diving snare of a sinking liner, and then in the fifth inning he fell against the 21-foot high right field wall to steal extra bases away from Michael Morse.tmpplchld Matt Carpenter scored three runs, walked twice, and had a triple and a double.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 St. Louis Post-Dispatchtmpplchld Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld