As you’ll notice in the headline, I’ve added a team to this check into the National League wild-card race since the most recent article in this series posted last Thursday.
That’s because the Diamondbacks took two of three from the Twins while the Reds got swept out of Sacramento. Arizona moved ahead of Cincinnati by half a game.
Now, both of those teams have a climb to make it into the third wild-card spot, still held by the Mets, who broke an eight-game losing streak Sunday. The hot Giants got cooled
off by the Dodgers, who took two of three, but they still trail the Mets by just one game. The Mets hold the tiebreaker over the Giants.
Entering Monday’s action, the Cubs’ magic number to clinch a postseason spot is 4, and to clinch the top wild-card spot and home games for a wild-card series, it’s 10.
Speaking of the postseason, the Cubs announced Monday a “Fly the W” postseason ticket pre-sale opportunity. You can register from now through Oct. 3 by going here. This will sign you up for a random drawing for the chance to purchase postseason tickets. Limit one registration per person, more details at the link.
Here are the remaining schedules for all the wild-card contenders.
Cubs (6 home, 7 road)
at Pirates (3), at Reds (4), Mets (3), Cardinals (3)
The Cubs face just one more team that’s currently over .500, the Mets — and the Mets are in free-fall, having just ended that long losing streak. Per Tankathon, the Cubs’ remaining schedule is eighth-easiest.
Of the Cubs’ 13 remaining games, 10 are divisional games and the Cubs have a 24-18 record against NL Central teams so far this year. That could come into play for a tiebreaker with the Padres.
Padres (6 home, 6 road)
at Mets (3), at White Sox (3), Brewers (3), Diamondbacks (3)
With no more games against the Rockies, the Padres’ remaining schedule went from easiest to middle of the pack (ranked 16th). Their series against the Mets could go a long way toward wild-card positioning for both teams.
Mets (6 home, 6 road)
Padres (3), Nationals (3), at Cubs (3), at Marlins (3)
The Mets are 46-29 at home, though they just lost two of three to the Rangers at Citi Field. As noted above, there should be a lot more clarity about the wild-card positions of both the Mets and Padres after their series is complete. The teams are off today and will begin that three-game set Tuesday evening.
Giants (6 home, 7 road)
at Diamondbacks (3), at Dodgers (4), Cardinals (3), Rockies (3)
As previously mentioned, the D-backs have inserted themselves into the wild-card race and stand just half a game behind the Giants. The Giants took two of three from Arizona at Oracle Park last week. Again, more clarity on whether either of these teams still has a shot at a wild-card berth should be known after their series is complete on Wednesday.
Diamondbacks (9 home, 3 road)
Giants (3), Phillies (3), Dodgers (3), at Padres (3)
The D-backs have the advantage of a long homestand beginning tonight — but six of the nine games are against division leaders. The D-backs and Dodgers have split 10 games so far this year. Then Arizona finishes on the road at San Diego, and those games could mean everything to them — or nothing. As always, we await developments.
Reds (7 home, 6 road)
at Cardinals (3), Cubs (4), Pirates (3), at Brewers (3)
The Reds pretty much played themselves out of the wild-card race by getting swept by the A’s in Sacramento over the weekend. They trail the Mets by 2.5 games for the final wild-card spot, but now they have both the Diamondbacks and Giants ahead of them. The Cubs could eliminate Cincinnati this weekend.
