The Cubs beat the Phillies 7-1 last night, and that alone would make it a good enough day from a standings perspective. The Cubs have a big enough lead that if they just win out at a reasonable clip, they’re gonna lock this division down.
But it’s always nice to get help.
And the Cubs got last night from the Reds and Nationals, as those two clubs beat the Cardinals and Brewers, respectively. The Reds shut out the Cardinals, and the Nationals scored four in the 8th (all with two outs) to beat the Brewers.
Thus, the Cubs’ lead in the Central is bumped back up to a healthy 4.5 games over the Cardinals (five in the loss column) and 5.0 games over the Brewers (six in the loss column). That’s pretty comfortable, I’d say. Until the Cubs lose another game on a day the Cardinals and Brewers win, and everything flips from comfortable to PANIC!
Meanwhile, the Cardinals and Brewers still lead the Wild Card, though the team now behind them is the Dodgers or the Diamondbacks, as they are now tied atop the NL West standings. They are 1.5 games behind the Brewers. The Rockies are 2.0 games back, and the Phillies remain 3.0 games back.