The Cubs did everything they could do this weekend, sweeping away the Giants, and putting themselves 3.5 games up for the second Wild Card spot. It’s actually rather incredible that the Giants lost four in a row to the Cubs and are still next team behind them in the Wild Card race.
That’s thanks in part to the Nationals, who lost again to the Rockies. They’re now five games behind the Cubs, and the NL East looks much more attainable for them at this point.
Speaking of which, the NL East leaders, the Mets, lost 4-3 to the Rays. The Mets maintained their 1.5 game lead over the Nationals, and, if you think of them as a more likely Wild Card team when all is said and done, you can put them 3.5 games behind the Cubs.
The Giants, by the way, are still just 3.0 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West because the Dodgers couldn’t win a game this weekend against the Pirates.
Those Pirates, thanks to the repeated wins over the Dodgers, are 3.5 games ahead of the Cubs for the top Wild Card spot, and 5.0 games behind the Cardinals.
The Cardinals lost late to the Brewers, by the way, so the Cubs did gain a game in the Central. The Cubs are 8.5 games back, thanks mostly to the Cardinals having 5 more wins than any other team in baseball.