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Who’s going to win the logjammed National League Central? Handicappers and bettors will get a chance to ponder that mystery Sunday when the Milwaukee Brewers close out a series at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs (TBS, 2:20 p.m.).

Those two and the St. Louis Cardinals have been joined at the hip in recent days. None has shown the ability to sustain excellence. Let’s look at some key indicator categories to see if they provide any hints about division and wild-card chances.

Offense: Sunday’s TBS teams have a clear edge over St. Louis whether you’re looking at raw scoring or advanced analytics categories at FanGraphs such as weighted runs created-plus (which adjusts for ballparks and leagues) or wOBA (weighted on-base average). While not measuring up to the potent Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs and Brewers are producing, while the Cardinals are not.

Sunday’s TBS teams have a clear edge over St. Louis whether you’re looking at raw scoring or advanced analytics categories at FanGraphs such as weighted runs created-plus (which adjusts for ballparks and leagues) or wOBA (weighted on-base average). While not measuring up to the potent Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs and Brewers are producing, while the Cardinals are not. Starting pitching: Not much to get excited about here. The Cubs rank fifth in the NL in xFIP, a fielding independent measure that gives a clean read on skill sets. The Cardinals are a few spots behind them, near the league median. Milwaukee is in the bottom third.

Not much to get excited about here. The Cubs rank fifth in the NL in xFIP, a fielding independent measure that gives a clean read on skill sets. The Cardinals are a few spots behind them, near the league median. Milwaukee is in the bottom third. Bullpens: Depends on whether you want to trust ERA or xFIP. You regulars know that VSiN prefers the latter. But it can be tough to trust xFIP when it’s showing the beleaguered Brewers bullpen ranks second in the NL.

In bullpen ERA, St. Louis entered the weekend No. 2 in the league, with the Cubs a couple of spots back and Milwaukee near league average. In fielding-independent measures, the Brewers grade out much better. This suggests Milwaukee has been pitching with some bad bullpen luck that could regress at just the right time.

Blown saves could be a trump card. The Cardinals are the class of the group, while the Cubs have struggled.

Defense: VSiN discussed defense Friday when previewing the Red Sox-Yankees series. Let’s use the same stats here. St. Louis is best at turning batted balls into outs (defensive efficiency). The Cardinals rank No. 3, the Cubs are No. 5 and the Brewers are No. 10 in defensive runs saved.

Once again, bettors are left with the option of choosing the “defense wins championships” team (St. Louis with fielding and bullpen consistency), or considering the possibility that the aerodynamically friendly baseball is going to turn the postseason on its head and reward slugging volume.

William Hill is currently giving a slight nod to tradition. Its odds to win the NL for these three: Cardinals 7/1, Cubs 15/2 and Brewers 9/1. For the World Series, it’s Cardinals 15/1, Cubs 15/1 and Brewers 20/1.

There’s plenty of head-to-head action still remaining for handicappers to study. St. Louis will play the Cubs and Milwaukee nine times each. The Cubs and Brewers still have seven more to go after this weekend series ends. Those meetings will help bettors evaluate the divisional and wild-card races.