Gotta love those two-game swings in the standings! Well, I mean, when they go the Cubs’ way, that is.
Last night, the Cubs came back in the 9th and won it in the 10th over the Brewers, increasing their division lead to 4.5 games, and shrinking their magic number to just six.
I am so LaHair for this. pic.twitter.com/EwYRMduRrJ
— Brett Taylor (@BleacherNation) September 22, 2017
Elsewhere in the Central, the Cardinals won again, and are actually now tied with the Brewers in the loss column (with one fewer win). The Cubs’ magic number with respect to the Cardinals is also six. Get this: if they had, say, taken two of three from the Cubs last weekend instead of gotten swept, they’d be just one game behind the Cubs. That was a big sweep, my friends.
That Cardinals win, combined with yet another Rockies loss (they have really tanked in the second half), means they’re right there in the Wild Card race now, too. They are 1.5 games back, and the Brewers are 1.0 games back. It is completely plausible that a Wild Card spot will now come from the NL Central, something that you would have described as insane back at the Trade Deadline. Also insane: the NL Wild Card race is now much closer than the crazy AL Wild Card race, where 2.5 games separate the WC2 Twins and the outside-looking-in Rangers and Angels.
That reminds me about the closeness of the races in the NL: thanks for not being aggressive buyers at the deadline, Cardinals and Brewers. Good job taking advantage of a competitive season …