The Cubs won and lost a game yesterday, while their nearest competitors in the NL Central did the same thing.
The Cardinals were shut out by the Pirates and Trevor Williams (dude is good – and remember, he’s the guy the Pirates got from the Marlins in exchange for pitching guru Jim Benedict, whom the Marlins subsequently let go a few years later, and now he’s with the Cubs). Matt Carpenter left the game with an illness, and the bats couldn’t do much, so another good Miles Mikolas outing did not translate to a win for the otherwise still scorching hot Cardinals.
So, then, the Cardinals remain 4.5 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. They have five more losses than the Cubs.
Meanwhile, the Brewers won an insane game against the Reds, 13-12 in 10 innings. It had controversy, late scoring, a pitcher homer, extra innings, a rain delay, replay reviews, and Christian Yelich went 6 for 6 and hit for the cycle:
With his triple in the 7th, @ChristianYelich ties this game at 10 and becomes the first Brewers player to hit for the cycle since George Kottaras (9/3/11 at Houston). He is the 8th Brewers player to hit for the cycle. #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/atLiRrgnAE
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 30, 2018
As far as it concerns us, the win brought the Brewers back to within 5.0 games of the Cubs (six in the loss column).
The Cardinals and Brewers still have the Wild Card spots, with the Brewers a game ahead of the Rockies, 1.5 ahead of the Dodgers, and 2.5 ahead of the Phillies. The Cardinals face the Pirates again today, and the Brewers again face the Reds. The Cubs, of course, have to go play a one-gamer in Atlanta.