Cardinals baseball Playoff tickets on sale Sept. 24

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals will begin selling playoff tickets Sept. 24, but only to those who qualify through an online drawing, the team said Wednesday.

The defending champions, two games out of first place in the NL Central, will sell tickets for potential National League Division Series and Championship Series games on that date. World Series tickets would be sold at a later date.

Fans must pre-register at www.stlcardinals.com by 5 p.m. on Sept. 19 for a random drawing to have an opportunity to purchase tickets online. Tickets will not be sold at Busch Stadium or over the phone.

On Sept. 21, winners will be notified by an e-mail that will provide instructions on how to purchase tickets Sept. 24.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 24, winners of the ticket lottery may purchase up to four tickets for one game of the possible seven in the NLDS and NLCS. Seat locations will be sold on a first-come basis.

Cardinals president Mark Lamping said the tickets are expected to sell out quickly. Prices range from $18 to $60 for each NLDS seat and $38 to $80 for NLCS seats.

The exact number of available tickets will depend on how many tickets are purchased by season-ticket holders, the Cardinals said.

-- The Associated Press