CHICAGO -- If a baseball season is a marathon, as the old adage goes, then the Cubs have roughly two miles to go until the finish line. The time has come to see how much is left in the collective tank, because there is still time for Chicago to shore up its place in the October picture.
The Cubs already had a series win in hand on Sunday, but they dropped the finale of a three-game set against the Pirates, 4-3, at Wrigley Field. Now the North Siders have a dozen games left on the regular-season slate with the goal of finishing with the National League’s top Wild Card spot in order to secure home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
“This is the part of the season that’s the best part of the season,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “And you work really hard to get here. And we get to enjoy it.”
As things stand, the Cubs and Phillies are tied in record (83-67), but Chicago boasts the tiebreaker over Philadelphia by finishing 6-1 in the season series. The Cubs also hold a tiebreaker over the Padres (5-1) and D-backs (4-2), who are chasing the North Siders and the Phillies in the Wild Card standings.
Technically, the Brewers have not yet clinched the NL Central, but with a 10-game lead over the Cubs and the season series in hand for Milwaukee, Chicago’s rivals are on the cusp of a fourth straight division crown. Like last year, the Cubs are hoping to finish first in the Wild Card race in order to host an NL Wild Card Series at Wrigley.
Last fall, the Friendly Confines provided an electric backdrop and environment that helped the North Siders go 4-1 at home during the playoffs. The Cubs took down the Padres in three games in the Wild Card Series, and then won both home games within the NL Division Series loss to the Brewers.
The Cubs would love nothing more than to fly back to Chicago following the final regular-season series in Boston.
“Every time that you get to play at Wrigley, it’s a huge advantage,” Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd said. “We have amazing fans. It’s an amazing atmosphere any day, but in the playoffs, it was an amazing opportunity that we had. The atmosphere, it was so fun to play in front of. Any baseball that we get to have here, it matters, in a good way. We want to have it.”
Let’s look at the remaining schedules for the four main Wild Card contenders:
Cubs
vs. Braves (three)
at Reds (three)
vs. Marlins (three)
at Red Sox (three)
Phillies
at Nationals (two)
at Mets (four)
vs. Brewers (three)
vs. Rays (three)
D-backs
vs. Marlins (three)
vs. Yankees (three)
at Rockies (three)
at Padres (three)
Padres
at Rockies (four)
vs. Marlins (three)
at Dodgers (three)
vs. D-backs (three)
The Cubs’ remaining schedule has a collective winning percentage of .523. Among the main four Wild Card contenders, only the Phillies (.538) have a harder schedule the rest of the way. Next up for Chicago is an Atlanta squad that is closing in on an NL East title, and the Cubs finish with the Red Sox, who are trying to chase down the Yankees for the top Wild Card spot in the American League.
“It’s our job to play our best baseball,” Boyd said, “attack every facet of it, all aspects of our game. The opponent doesn’t matter. It’s the big leagues. Everybody’s good. You focus on you. Really, it’s a time to double down on that.”
Helping matters for both the Cubs and Phillies is the fact that the D-backs and Padres square off in their final series of the season. While not impossible, that head-to-head series between Arizona and San Diego reduces the probability that either club could make a run to the top of the Wild Card field in the final stretch.
The Cubs' goal coming into the season was to unseat the Brewers as the division champions, while also possibly securing a first-round bye in October. Chicago has boasted an elite offense and defense, but a long list of injuries and issues have taken a toll on the pitching staff.
Still, the Cubs find themselves in postseason position, and they have an opportunity to bring October baseball back to Wrigley Field for the second year in a row.
“We are a team who is supposed to be in the playoffs,” Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia said. “Right now, we are going game by game. It doesn’t matter how many games are left. We have to win every game.”