ST. LOUIS _ The final game of the 2019 season for the Cubs and manager Joe Maddon came to a tumbling end Sunday.
The Cardinals relied on seven innings of two-hit ball by Jack Flaherty, and Dexter Fowler, Matt Carpenter and Paul Goldschmidt each hit home runs for a 9-0 victory that earned the Cardinals their first National League Central title since 2015.
The Cardinals (91-71) will face the Nationals in the first round of the NL playoffs.
The Cubs (84-78) lost their final game under Maddon, who will depart after five winning seasons. However, this was the first season the Cubs didn't reach the postseason under his watch.
Ben Zobrist, playing perhaps his final game with the Cubs, started at second base before moving to shortstop and pitched the eighth.
Zobrist struck out All-Star catcher Yadier Molina to complete a scoreless eighth.
