The Chicago Cubs are hitting the home stretch of their schedule as Labor Day weekend fades into the rearview mirror, and thanks to their excellent play of late they have taken a stranglehold on the final National League wild card spot.
The Cubs completed a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field and began an 11-game road trip with an emphatic 9-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Those four victories have helped the Cubs to not only pick up three games on the Redbirds in the NL Central race (where they now sit seven and a half games out), but they also gained two games on the Pittsburgh Pirates, leaving them just two games out of the top wild card spot in the NL.
The victories pushed the Cubs' chances of making the postseason to 99 percent, according to statistical analysis done by Fangraphs.
The Cubs also have built up a breathtaking lead in the wild card race over the teams chasing them, with an eight and a half game cushion over the Washington Nationals and a nine game lead over the San Francisco Giants, who have all but fallen out of the playoff picture after leading the Cubs by a half game in the early portion of August.
The Cubs’ victories and the losses of the teams chasing them have put their magic number at just 18, meaning that a combination of 18 Cubs wins and Nationals losses will give Chicago their first playoff berth since the 2008 season.
With teams quickly fading from the race, the Cubs are turning their full attention to catching the Pirates, and they’ll have plenty of chances to help their own cause. The Cubs still have seven games remaining against the Pirates, including a four-game series next week at PNC Park.
If they are able to overtake Pittsburgh for the top wild card spot, the Cubs would host the National League wild card game on October 7 at Wrigley Field, but if they end up falling short, the game would be played with the Pirates holding the home-field advantage. That would not be an ideal scenario for the one game playoff, as the Pirates have a sparkling 46-21 record at PNC Park this season.
Chicago Baseball
Even with seven games remaining against Pittsburgh, the Cubs still face the challenge of five more games against the Cardinals, including two more on their current road trip. St. Louis has only lost two series at home to National League opponents all season long, so the Cubs will be in for a tall task as they try to grab one more win in the Gateway City this week.
The Cubs do have some easier games still left on the slate, including six games against the lowly Brewers and a four game series with the Philadelphia Phillies, but those games against potential playoff opponents will be make or break time for the north siders. 13 of the Cubs’ final 26 games are against playoff teams, and if they can get through that gauntlet with a decent record, they’ll be in prime position to improve their playoff standing.
