NEWSLETTER
Thanks to yesterday’s series-clinching win and the Cardinals loss that followed it, the Chicago Cubs’ divisional lead is now at its highest point so far this season.
Speaking of that Cardinals loss, it came against the Reds (without Joey Votto), in St. Louis, and marked a series loss. When you’re trying to come back in a division race, you can’t afford that kind of thing. HOWEVA, it’s going to happen. It’s the way of baseball, and it’s why even a 5.5-game lead on September 3 is dangerously close to insurmountable. I know, it’s perilous for me to say such things, but I’m just talking about the reality.
The now-second-place Brewers won again yesterday, and they are more or less now just as hot as the Cardinals and Cubs, but that hasn’t meant making up any ground. Instead, it’s meant them taking the top Wild Card spot. The Cardinals are in that second spot, with a 1.5-game lead over the Rockies, a 2.0-game lead on the suddenly-slumping Diamondbacks, and a 3.5-game lead on the sorry-you-ran-into-the-Cubs Phillies. Believe it or not, the Dodgers now lead the NL West. Funny how that works out.
Meanwhile, those Brewers get a much stiffer test this week when they face … the Cubs. Yup, it’s the first and second place teams in the NL Central going at it. A sweep or a series win for the Cubs probably ends the Brewers’ hopes of a comeback, but a Brewers sweep or series win will keep their hopes alive.
A very, very good morning to you. pic.twitter.com/pc2eC4gPDq
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 3, 2018
