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Chicago sports: Bears, Cubs and White Sox playoff outlooks
Mark Carman of CHGO Sports previews the Bears’ season opener and discusses what the Cubs and White Sox need to do in the playoff race.
The Chicago Cubs didn't have a great time in Milwaukee. After splitting a four-game series with the Brewers last week, Milwaukee protected its home field this week.
Now, it seems the NL Central division title is unattainable. But, that's not what the Cubs should pay attention to.
After the Brewers swept the Cubs, the Northsiders postseason outlook now looks different in general. Are they in danger of missing the postseason entirely?
The backstory:
The Brewers completed a sweep of the Cubs, holding on for an 8-6 victory Wednesday night to extend their NL Central lead to 10 games over the Cubs.
Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio and William Contreras homered for majors-leading Milwaukee (91-56).
The Cubs (81-66) scored five runs in the ninth, starting with four walks by Brandon Sproat. Abner Uribe relieved and gave up an RBI single, a run-scoring ground out and a two-run double by Michael Conforto to make it 8-6.
Henderson (10-3) retired the first nine before Pete Crow-Armstrong singled to open the fourth. Crow-Armstrong advanced on a passed ball, took third on a fly out, and scored the unearned run on a ground out to cut the deficit to 7-1.
Henderson allowed one unearned run on two hits, striking out six and walking one before exiting after Carson Kelly’s leadoff single in the sixth.
Kevin Gausman (9-12) allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits in four innings, including three home runs.
Yelich staked the Brewers to a 3-0 lead in the first with his 11th homer. Brice Turang reached on an infield force out and Contreras walked. Andrew Vaughn struck out, but Yelich sent an 0-1 pitch 372 feet to left-center.
The Brewers made it 6-0 in the second on home runs by Chourio and Contreras. Chourio’s one-out solo shot was his career-best 23rd. Turang walked and Contreras followed with his 15th homer, and 100th of his career.
Milwaukee capitalized on errors for unearned runs in the third and sixth. - Associated Press
What's next:
The Cubs have had a difficult start to September.
They were originally seven games back of the Brewers in the NL Central. That lead is now 10 games for Milwaukee. That's not the number to know, however.
The Cubs were originally ahead of the Phillies for the top NL Wild Card spot. They're now a game and a half behind Philadelphia for the top Wild Card spot. Again, that's not the number to watch now.
The Cubs are now 2.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres for the second and final Wild Card spot. With the Cubs being 4-6 in their last 10 games and 5-10 in their last 15 games, they're trending downward at the worst possible time.
Now, there's a real chance they miss the postseason entirely.
Still, there's a good chance they make the playoffs. The Cubs' magic number is 13 after last night. If that happens, it comes down to if they'll host a Wild Card series or not. Last year, the Cubs were two games ahead of the Padres. They hosted the NL Wild Card round at Wrigley Field and won the series in three games.
In 2026, the Padres are now nipping at their heels with the Arizona Diamondbacks just a half game behind the Padres, too.
The Source: Information comes from the Associated Press and the MLB standings.