With one week to go in the regular season, the Cubs’ magic number to clinch a postseason berth has dropped to one, and their magic number to get home field in a Wild Card series is now six. This means that the Cubs control their own destiny. Win out — six games — and they will be home a week from Tuesday against either the Padres or Phillies. (Easy? No, but it is possible.)
In the meantime, here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.
Three up
Pete Crow-Armstrong had a very weird, but productive, week
PCA batted .345/.367/.897 (10-for-29) with two doubles,
a triple, four home runs, nine RBI, seven runs scored and two stolen bases. That’s a 1.264 OPS for the six games, which might actually be good enough to get him another Player of the Week award.
But here’s the thing. He put up those numbers while going 0-for-15 with five strikeouts in three of the six games!
That means that in the other three games, he was 10-for-14 (.714) with all those other peripheral numbers.
That’s just crazy. Here’s his 3-for-4 day against the Braves last Wednesday [VIDEO].
I keep saying this but I have to say it one more time: Savor this PCA season, we have not seen anything like it from a Cubs player — or most MLB players! — in most of our lifetimes. I hope he can steal two bases against the Marlins this week so he’d join the 40/40 club at Wrigley Field.
And remember, PCA is only 24. Who knows? He might do this again next year!
David Peterson is getting hot at just the right time
In his two starts over the week ending Sunday, Peterson threw 12 innings, allowed six hits and two runs, walked four and struck out 14. For his last three starts, which include two against postseason teams (Braves and Brewers), Peterson has a 1.65 ERA and 1.163 WHIP and 18 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. (And the run charged to him against Atlanta scored after he left the game.)
I think the Cubs might have to consider Peterson for a Wild Card series start.
Here are his seven K’s last Tuesday against the Braves [VIDEO].
Daniel Palencia appears to be back
Palencia pitched just twice over the week, but the second outing was two scoreless innings against the Reds Saturday, the first time he’d thrown two full innings in a game since April 2025. The best news is that in that two-inning outing, Palencia threw eight of his 20 pitches at 100 miles per hour, a level he had trouble hitting in his first few outings back.
Then he struck out JJ Bleday on this excellent slider to end the outing [VIDEO].
I don’t think I have to tell you how much having a productive Palencia would mean for the Cubs in the postseason.
Three down
Nico Hoerner is still struggling
Remember when Nico was hitting at MVP level in April?
He’s had a rough time since then. Over the six games he batted just .250/.280/.292 (6-for-24) with one double.
Nico’s offensive numbers are down this year and he’s only going to post a bit more than 2 bWAR after a 6.2 bWAR season in 2025.
Hopefully he can turn it on in October, and continue playing solid defense at second base.
Clay Holmes got roughed up by the Reds
Holmes has had a couple of clunkers since joining the Cubs — this week against the Reds and the previous week against the Marlins.
The good news is that both of those starts were on the road. In four Wrigley Field starts since joining the Cubs, Holmes has a 1.14 ERA and 1.014 WHIP in 23.2 innings, with 18 strikeouts and only one home run allowed.
He’ll likely start Thursday against the Marlins (though currently that game is listed as TBD for the Cubs starter), which would set him up for a start in the Wild Card series the following week. If that series winds up at Wrigley, I’d seriously consider Holmes for one of the starts.
Edward Cabrera had a rough transition to relieving, but maybe there’s hope
Cabrera’s first relief outing for the Cubs probably went an inning too long, as he was left in for a third inning of work after finishing the seventh and throwing a scoreless eighth against the Braves last Wednesday. Craig Counsell left him out there in a 4-3 game and he served up a two-run homer to Drake Baldwin in the ninth.
Things were better for Cabrera in a scoreless inning against the Reds in a low-leverage situation on Sunday. He allowed a hit and a walk, but got out of the inning with a double play. He threw only nine pitches, two of which hit 99. Perhaps shorter outings would be better for Cabrera.
