NEWSLETTER
Thank you, Royals. The Cubs can’t seem to help themselves right now, so thank you for your help.
The Cardinals got smoked:
https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1308975130010357761
With that Cardinals loss, the Cubs’ magic number to clinch the NL Central dropped to three:
The Reds beat the Brewers to wrap up that series, and each team could now tie the Cubs in the Central only if the Cubs lost each of their four remaining games, and they won all of their remaining games. Not impossible, given how the Cubs have looked, but it seems pretty unlikely.
Moreover, the Cubs already hold the tiebreaker against the Reds, so even if they wind up tied atop the standings, the Cubs win the division by virtue of the 6-4 head-to-head record. The Brewers and Cubs went 5-5, so it’ll come down to the intradivision record, which is still very much up in the air. So, let’s just not worry about it for now. That is all to say, the Cubs’ Central magic number as it relates to the Brewers is just one.
As for the Cardinals, they’ve got the Brewers now for five games in four days. It’s still likely that ends things right there, but if it becomes necessary for the Cardinals to play their final two unscheduled games, they would play a doubleheader against the Tigers on Monday. In order to pass the Cubs, I believe – though it has not been officially announced – the Cardinals would be required to play those two games. So, for example, if the Cubs can win just one of their final four games, then the Cardinals would have to go 6-1 over these seven games (which, again, would include two doubleheaders).
Even as the Cubs have stunk lately, it remains highly, highly unlikely that they do not clinch the NL Central this weekend.
