When the 30 teams report to spring training in February after a long winter of offseason changes, each one keeps their eyes on the most coveted prize for an MLB franchise: A World Series Championship. As the remaining days of the MLB regular season come to a close, only one playoff spot in the National League remains unclaimed.

Does this sound familiar? In many ways it should. The St. Louis Cardinals, who set high standards for themselves after a surprising 2011 postseason run, are once again in the fold of obtaining the last wild card spot.

Unlike last year, however, there are two wild card spots available for teams to claim in both the AL and NL. The two teams that win these spots will face each other in a one game elimination at the stadium of the front-running team. From that point the Wild Card champion will move on to face the league’s top-record team.

The Atlanta Braves, who the Cardinals chased last year, have acquired the first spot with a current record of 93-66. The other spot is in the fate of the Cardinals (86-73), who are hoping to avoid a collapse that would put the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason.

The Dodgers are currently two games behind the Cardinals in the Wild Card standings, and with three regular season games left on schedule, the Cardinals have to do a few things make sure that they are still in postseason after this weekend passes.

The Cards need to do whatever it takes to make sure that LA doesn’t pass them up. With their current Magic Number at 2, here are the ways the Cards should play against the two teams they would ideally play this week.

The Cincinnati Reds

First and foremost, the Cardinals must perform well in their last three regular season games against the NL Central foe, Cincinnati Reds. The series will be tough since the Reds have proven to play the Cards well over the season and clinched a playoff spot last week. Two wins will allow the Cards to clinch the final Wild Card spot, and build confidence in a possible NLCS preview.

In order to take care of business, the Cardinals will have to find a way to overcome Reds pitching. The Reds have Bronson Arroyo, Mat Latos, and Homer Bailey scheduled to pitch these games. All three have had success against St. Louis over the years, and the statistically solid bullpen will be hard to score a bundle of runs against. As long as the Cardinals offense continues to hit the Reds pitching in the final three regular season games, the team should thrive and acquire the Wild Card spot with ease.

The Cardinals pitchers have already proven to quiet the Reds offense, and with Jaime Garcia and Chris Carpenter guaranteed starts at home, the Cards will hope for them to pitch well and to the next obstacle for the Wild Card.

The Atlanta Braves

While sports experts believe the Cardinals will face the Braves in Atlanta on the Friday night showdown, it could be two completely different teams. The Braves, who are in the playoffs regardless, could overtake the Nationals to take the NL East division title, while the Dodgers are still hungry for the Cardinals spot. Ideally though, we will have to figure out how to squeeze a close game from Atlanta, since we played the Nationals over the weekend and know how to win against them.

The Braves have a powerful offense led by veteran Chipper Jones and youngster Freddie Freeman. While others like Dan Uggla, Jason Heyward, and Brian McCann are known to drive in runs, they are not as consistent with putting the ball in play as the team’s two leaders. The Braves also strive when one pitcher, Kris Medlen, starts for them. The Braves have won 23 consecutive decisions under Medlen, and plan on using him for this one game eliminator given that he will be on full rest.

The Cardinals can counter with either one of two pitchers. Adam Wainwright can be pushed back one start to face the team that drafted him, or Kyle Lohse can pitch to prove how valuable he is in his contract season. Many Cardinal fans are familiar with Wainwright’s credentials, and believe that he would thrive if the Cardinals pushed him back one start to pitch this crucial game. Lohse is slated to start this game, but sooner than later, manager Mike Matheny will have to choose which ace pitches this game.

The Cardinals offense is similar to Atlanta’s with the fact that it is streaky. However, as of lately, the Cardinals have been scoring runs in large quantities. As long as our offense can flourish against the Braves, and our pitching remains in tact for this one game, the Cards will be set up to provide an encore for last year’s playoff performance.