The Cubs may have 91 wins with 7 more games to go, but their magic number remains relatively high, because the dang Brewers keep on winning.
Last night, the Brewers crushed the Pirates 13-6, as Christian Yelich smashed his 32nd homer of the season, while collecting RBIs 94, 95, and 96. They’re still 2.5 games back, but the division race is far from over. Indeed, thanks to the Brewers, this sure feels like the scenic route towards clinch town.
The Cardinals also won last night, their third in a row, and, for the moment, that’s kept the Rockies just out of reach (1.5 games back of the second Wild Card). With that said, the Cardinals elimination number in the NL Central has dropped down to 3, which means even with a Cubs series at the end of the year, their chances at taking the Central are extremely slim.
But although things are going well, I feel compelled to share that the Cubs magic number for the playoffs at large is just 2. So as long as their win total and the Rockies loss total combines all the way up to 2, the Cubs will get at least one crack at October. I don’t hate that.
In the NL East, the Atlanta Braves have already sewn things up (with only 88 wins … must be nice), while the Dodgers have a 1.5 game lead over the Rockies with a 6 game Magic Number. As you can see, there’s still plenty to be decided. Exciting season.
Now, let’s go, Cubs.