Cubs clinch spot in playoffs with Giants loss
The Cubs lost to the Pirates on Friday afternoon (PIT 3, CHC 2), but that didn’t stop them from clinching a spot in the postseason. Chicago clinched their first playoff berth since 2008 thanks to the Giants’ loss to the Athletics on Friday night (OAK 5, SF 4).
The Cubbies have not been to the postseason since getting swept in back-to-back NLDS from 2007-08. They were swept by the Diamondbacks in 2007 and the Dodgers in 2008. Chicago’s last postseason win was Game 4 of the 2003 NLCS. That was two games before the Steve Bartman incident.
Coming into Friday, the Cubs were tied with the Royals for the third best record in baseball at 89-63. Unfortunately, the two best records belong to the NL Central rival Cardinals (97-56) and Pirates (93-60). The Cubs would have the best record in the other five divisions, but they’re only the third best team in the NL Central.
In all likelihood the Cubs will play the Pirates in Pittsburgh in the wild-card game. There’s still time for them to pass the Pirates in the standings and host the wild-card game in Wrigley Field, but it’s unlikely. The winner of the wild-card game would then play the Cardinals in the NLDS. So the three best teams in baseball all play in one division … and only one can advance to the NLCS.
How did the Cubs get back to the postseason? With young talent, first and foremost. Anthony Rizzo is among the best hitters in the game and both Kris Bryant and Addison Russell are budding superstars. Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler also look like longtime lineup stalwarts. Dexter Fowler, Chris Coghlan, Chris Denorfia, Miguel Montero, Starlin Castro and others have chipped in offensively.
Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester form an excellent one-two rotation punch — that said, they might only be the third best one-two punch in the NL behind Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke and Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey — though right now there is some uncertainty at the back of the rotation. Jason Hammel, Dan Haren and Kyle Hendricks are candidates to get postseason starts behind the big two.
Arrieta, a legitimate Cy Young candidate, has been out of this world the last few weeks. He is 14-1 with a 0.94 ERA in his last 18 starts. That’s 14 earned runs in 134 innings. Arrieta has also struck out 134 batters and walked 27 during that time. He is 20-6 with a 1.88 ERA (210 ERA+) on the season overall. Expect to see him start the NL wild-card game.
Much of Chicago’s success can be attributed not only to their great young players, but also new manager Joe Maddon, who has helped changed the clubhouse culture. His impact may not be quantifiable but it absolutely exists. Maddon’s arrival has been a big part of the Cubs going from rebuilding to contending.
Now that they have a postseason spot locked up, the Cubs can focus on trying to catch the Pirates for the top wild-card spot, though that will be tough to do. They’re 4 1/2 games back with nine to play. Not impossible, just unlikely. The focus now is more on getting healthy and lining Arrieta up for that wild-card game.
The Cubs are the fourth team to clinch a postseason spot this year, joining the Cardinals, Pirates and Royals. Kansas City is the only team to clinch a division title so far.
Joe Maddon and the Cubs will be playing baseball in October. (USATSI)
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