The Reds did not muster any kind of fight in their series opener against the Brewers, who blitzed them for eight runs, and Christian Yelich hit for another cycle.
Thankfully, the Cubs won, too, so they remain 2.5 games ahead in the Central, and three games in the loss column. The Cubs’ division odds are now up to 88.0% at FanGraphs, a nice bounce back after they’d sunk down into the 70% range last week. Meanwhile:
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 18, 2018
Apparently, the Cubs falling behind the second Wild Card spot over these final 12 games happens in none (or nearly none) of the 10,000 simulations run by FanGraphs, depending on some rounding. Seems like tempting fate to me, but who am I to argue with math and computers?
The Cubs clicked their heels and chopped another unit off their magic number:
Elsewhere, the Cardinals won again, thumping the Braves, which helped them move back into the second Wild Card spot, when coupled with a Rockies loss against the Dodgers. The Dodgers flipped back into first place in the West with that win.
With the Braves losing, the Cubs’ lead for the best record among division leaders is now 5.0 games. It has become far, FAR more likely that the Cubs are passed by the Brewers rather than passed by another division leader. Which is not to say the Brewers passing the Cubs is *likely,* I’m basically just saying the best record – and top playoff seed – is going to come from the NL Central at this point.
The Boston Red Sox already have 15(! LOL !) more wins than the Cubs, though, so home field in the World Series is out of the question.
Yes, I’m talking about the World Series. The Cubs have won four of five and just scored a whopping five runs. That’s WORLD SERIES TIME, BABY!!!