For the second straight season, the Chicago Cubs are going to the playoffs.
Chicago locked up a spot in the National League field with a 2-1 over the Miami Marlins on Thursday, Sept. 24, locking up a National League wild card spot after fumbling clinching opportunities by losing the first two games of the series.
It capped a months-long fight for playoff position that had Chicago tangled with the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies for the league's wild card spots into the season's last full week. The Milwaukee Brewers locked up the NL Central last week and the Cubs were never really within reach.
How the Cubs got here
Chicago's calling card all year was the lineup. The pitching staff was something the Cubs had to survive. The Cubs led the majors in runs scored,
powered by an MVP-caliber season from center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. He paired 40-plus home runs and speed on the bases with elite defense, and by Seiya Suzuki's steady production in the middle of the order. Alex Bregman gave the lineup another middle-of-the-order threat, but that was before he suffered multiple facial fractures after being hit in the face with a foul ball.
The pitching staff was the bigger question mark, and the front office spent the summer trying to answer it. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and general manager Carter Hawkins added Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes at the trade deadline to bolster a rotation and bullpen that had leaked home runs but in Holmes' case, that plan had blown up in September after a hot start. Manager Craig Counsell spent the stretch run mixing and matching to cover for it, leaning on the lineup to outscore Chicago's mistakes.
Chicago's last trip to October ended at Milwaukee's hands, a five-game NL Division Series loss to the Brewers last season, and that series hangs over this Cubs team every time the two clubs meet.
What's next for the Cubs?
Because Chicago finished as a wild card team rather than a division winner, it opens the postseason in a best-of-three Wild Card Series. It could potentially host that series if it finishes as the top wild card team.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago Cubs punch ticket to MLB playoffs, clinch NL wild card spot
