After sweeping the Colorado Rockies in the final series at Wrigley Field in the regular season, Chicago Cubs fans gained some hope that the team was perhaps gearing up for a strong finish on the road.
Three consecutive games of blown leads later to one of the MLB's most prolific offensive teams of all-time, and the Cubs are left with a very difficult and complicated but possible path to the postseason.
While the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres are both technically still alive in the playoff race, the outcomes that would result in a playoff bid for either team will be ignored in this case, as they both require enough Cubs losses that would take the North Siders out of contention regardless.
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Instead, and arguably poetically, the Cubs' playoff hopes are inextricably linked to the Miami Marlins. The same franchise that dealt the Cubs perhaps their biggest heartbreak in franchise history in 2003. The same franchise that made the Cubs' World Series core go quietly into the sunset in the 2020 playoffs.
Making the Cubs' path to October complicated on top of difficult was the outcome, or rather lack thereof, of Thursday's Mets-Marlins game.
Scoreless through seven-and-a-half innings, the Mets took a 1-0 lead before Miami climbed on top in the top of the ninth inning, when torrential rains took over and the game was suspended, with the Marlins leading 2-1 with two men on and two outs in the top of the ninth.
On Friday, the MLB said the game will only be completed if the outcome of the game could still impact the playoff race. If necessary, the game would be finished in New York on Monday.
In order for the Cubs to not have to rely on a ninth inning comeback by a team being forced to play a half-inning of baseball weeks after they've been eliminated from contention, the Cubs would need a sweep in Milwaukee against the Brewers this weekend AND the Marlins dropping two of three to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
If the Cubs were to lose a single game in their series in Milwaukee, they would need the Pirates to sweep the Marlins in Pittsburgh in order to render Monday's game meaningless.
If the Cubs were to lose twice, they would need a Pirates sweep over the Marlins and a ninth-inning Mets comeback in order to qualify for the playoffs.
If the Marlins take two of three games from the Pirates this weekend, the Cubs would need to sweep the Brewers AND need the Mets to come back in the ninth inning against the Marlins on Monday.
Heading into play on Friday, the Cubs' playoff odds stand at just 21.8% according to Baseball Reference, a decline of almost 75% from where they stood after sweeping the San Francisco Giants at home, when the Cubs had a 96.1% chance of making the postseason.
Kyle Hendricks will make his final start of the season tonight at 7:10 p.m. local time, facing off against former Cub Colin Rea at American Family Field in Milwaukee.