Although the past couple of weeks have undoubtedly gone poorly for the Chicago Cubs overall, the 80-win North Siders still find themselves in a playoff spot with just eight games remaining in the regular season.
After sweeping the also-contending San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field at the start of the month, the Cubs' playoff chances have taken a nosedive, highlighted by losing six of seven critical games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who leapfrogged the Cubs for the second NL Wild Card spot in that time.
Outside of losing those six crucial games, the Cubs have also sustained series losses to the lowly Colorado Rockies and the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates, bringing a club that was just 1.5 games out of first place and 12 games above .500 to the edge of playoff contention.
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Although the Cubs do hold a one-game lead on the Miami Marlins for the final Wild Card spot, the Cubs do not hold tiebreakers against any of the other teams near them in the standings, meaning a tie for the third Wild Card spot with the Marlins, Diamondbacks or Cincinnati Reds would keep the Cubs out of the postseason.
Though the Cubs do hold a tiebreaker over the San Francisco Giants, their playoff odds are looking exceptionally slim, trailing the Cubs by three games while also needing to leapfrog both the Marlins and Reds.
The North Siders picked up perhaps their most crucial win of the season on Friday, shutting out the Rockies 6-0 in the series opener of their final set at Wrigley Field.
In addition to the Friday victory, the Cubs got help from everyone they needed it from last night, as the Marlins, Reds and Diamondbacks all lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, Pirates and New York Yankees respectively.
The assistance brings the Cubs' Baseball Reference playoff odds right to 60%, an 18.2% increase from where they were just 24 hours ago, but also an 18.3% decrease from where they were just seven days ago.
The Cubs will be bringing Opening Day starter Marcus Stroman back to the mound in search of a series victory on Saturday afternoon, looking to bolster their playoff chances ahead of two difficult three-game sets on the road against the MLB-best Atlanta Braves and the Brewers.
While the Cubs can certainly expect standings that look different at the end of the night, they do know one team will be staying put.
The Diamondbacks' Saturday game against the Yankees has been postponed, giving the Cubs a chance to cut their lead on the second Wild Card spot to just a half-game with a victory.
Here's a look at the current NL Wild Card standings, and a look at the remaining schedules for each contender:
- Philadelphia Phillies: 85-69, five-game lead on final playoff spot
- Arizona Diamondbacks: 81-73, one-game lead on final playoff spot
- Chicago Cubs: 80-74, one-game lead over first team out
- Miami Marlins: 79-75, one game behind Cubs for final spot
- Cincinnati Reds: 79-76, 1.5 games behind Cubs for final spot
- San Francisco Giants: 77-77, three games behind Cubs for final spot
- San Diego Padres: 76-78, four games behind Cubs for final spot
Remaining schedules
Philadelphia Phillies:
- Two games vs. Mets
- Three games vs. Pirates
- Three games at Mets
Arizona Diamondbacks:
- Two games at Yankees
- Three games at White Sox
- Three games vs. Astros
Chicago Cubs:
- Two games vs. Rockies
- Three games at Braves
- Three games at Brewers
Miami Marlins:
- Two games vs. Brewers
- Three games at Mets
- Three games at Pirates
Cincinnati Reds:
- Two games vs. Pirates
- Two games at Guardians
- Three games at Cardinals
San Francisco Giants:
- Two games at Dodgers
- Three games vs. Padres
- Three games vs. Dodgers
San Diego Padres:
- Two games vs. Cardinals
- Three games at Giants
- Three games at White Sox