The Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals are battling atop the National League Central division for another trip to the postseason. CDH’s Ian Brickey takes a look at the deeper meaning behind the Cardinals-Reds rivalry.

Matt Holliday ruined Curtis Partch’s Sunday night. It had been a good weekend so far — a great one, in fact. Louisville Bats manager Jim Riggleman had delivered the news that every AAA player greets with a mixture of joy, relief and terror — Partch was going to the show. He made the short two-hour drive to Cincinnati later that day, been fitted for his uniform at Great American Ballpark and was ready to dress for his first major league game Sunday night. And then Matt Holliday had to beat it all to hell by doing what Matt Holliday is paid to do. With the bases loaded in the top of the 10th inning, the St. Louis Cardinals left fielder belted Partch’s 2-2 pitch into the upper deck of Great American Ballpark, capping a  seven run inning for the Cardinals and extending their division lead over the Reds to four games.

There’s a concept in the field of aesthetics known as the “uncanny valley.” It holds that, when human features resemble and move almost, but not quite perfectly, like natural human images, it can create a feeling of revulsion in observers. While it’s primarily a scientific term, since 2009, the uncanny valley might have a baseball application: the rivalry between the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals.