Artist’s rendering. (Original photo by Jimmy Emerson)

The Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals are tied at one game a piece in the National League Division Series. And with the teams heading to D.C. for the remainder of the best-of-five set, the mayors of the District of Columbia and St. Louis announced that they, too, have some skin in the game.

Should the Nationals prevail, the D.C. Flaga flag bearing the D.C. motto “Taxation Without Representation” shall fly over St. Louis City Hall for a day. But if the Cardinals win two out of the next three games, it’ll be St. Louis’ banner hanging above the John A. Wilson Building.

In a news release, D.C. Mayor Vince Gray said a Nationals win could also deliver a message to St. Louis residents about the District’s lack of congressional representation: “I look forward to the citizens of the city of St. Louis getting a lesson not only on the baseball diamond when the Nats take the series, but also in the uniquely unjust situation in which the District’s 618,000-plus residents find ourselves—denied voting representation in Congress and ultimate authority over our own budget and affairs—when our flag flies over Market Street in downtown St. Louis!”

But the Cardinals, as they showed yesterday, won’t go down easy. They are also the reigning World Series champion. And while the flag bet offers some nice symbolism, D.C. might be a little rusty when it comes to making the ceremonial bets between cities during postseason sporting events. After all, it has been 79 years since Washington got to experience playoff baseball.

Last year, for instance, when the Cardinals offed the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Mayor Robert Cluck of Arlington, Texas wagered gift baskets of foods and beverages made in their respective cities. Slay put up items like Schlafly beer, St. Louis-style barbecue and even some of that weird pizza they eat in Missouri. Cluck anted up with a shipment of Nolan Ryan-branded steaks.

The bet between D.C. and St. Louis, though, is strictly for the flags, a Gray spokesman says. Seems like a missed opportunity, though: Three Stars Brewing Company vs. Schlafly; Ben’s Chili Bowl half-smokes vs. barbecued meats; jumbo slice vs. that weird pizza?

The bounty in the other NLDS is much more robust, with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory agreeing that the losing city host a chili cook-off benefiting children’s services in the winning city.

For now, we’ll have to make do with the flags.

Correction: This post originally stated Mayor Vince Gray is wagering the official D.C. flag. The flag being bet is emblazoned with the District’s “Taxation Without Representation” motto.