The Chicago Cubs have only qualified for the playoffs once since 2018, but they hope to reverse that trend as the season winds down.
Currently, the Cubs are 78-69 on the season, and while they are 4.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central, they control their own destiny in the wild-card race, with a 2.5-game lead over the San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds.
Here are the standings as we enter play on Friday:
Phillies – 79-67
Cubs – 78-69
Giants – 75-71
Diamondbacks – 76-72
Reds – 76-72
Marlins – 75-72 (0.5 GB)
So what is the “magic number” for the Cubs to reach the playoffs?
Simply put, the “magic number” states the number of wins a team needs, plus the number of losses to the opponent it is chasing in the standings, to clinch a playoff spot.
Applying the formula provided by MLB, the Cubs’ current magic number to clinch at least a wild-card berth currently stands at 13.
The Cubs should be sure to finish ahead of the Reds in the standings as well. Cincinnati will set up a tiebreaker over the Cubs at the end of the season, having won seven of the 13 games the two teams played during the regular season.
The Cubs will also lose a tiebreaker to the Phillies and Marlins, and must sweep the Diamondbacks on the road this weekend to avoid losing a tiebreaker as well. However, they do have a tiebreaker with the Giants.
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