Chicago Cubs Pursuit of NL Central Lead Takes Hit in Loss

The Chicago Cubs absorbed a loss to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night and saw their hopes of catching the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central slip a bit further away.

The Cubs (78-68) combined their loss with the Brewers’ 3-1 win over Miami to help the Brewers trim their magic number by two games.

While catching the Brewers isn’t impossible, with just 16 games remaining the Cubs have little margin for error. With one more game in Colorado, and then three more in Arizona this weekend, the Cubs will likely know how realistic it is for them to catch the Brewers by the time they return to Wrigley Field.

The Cubs do end the season with three games against Milwaukee, but they’ll need to be within three games of the lead to make those games meaningful.

Meanwhile, the loss didn’t do much damage to the Cubs’ standing in the NL Wild Card race, as they are still two games ahead of the final Wild Card berth. However, the race behind them is hot, with four teams within two games of each other.

Below is an update on the race, with the current standings, magic numbers to clinch the NL Central and a Wild Card berth, along with the remaining schedules for the teams that are still in the race.

The NL Central Race as of Sept. 13

Tuesday’s Results

Colorado 6, Chicago Cubs 4

Milwaukee 3, Miami 1

Milwaukee (81-63): — (Magic Number to clinch NL Central: 14)

Chicago Cubs (78-68): 4 GB

What’s Left?

Milwaukee (18): Wednesday-Thursday: vs. Miami (2); Friday-Sunday: vs. Washington (3); Sept. 18-21: at St. Louis (4); Sept. 22-24: at Miami (3); Sept. 26-28: vs. St. Louis (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: vs. Chicago Cubs (3)

Chicago Cubs (16): Wednesday: at Colorado (1); Friday-Sunday: at Arizona (3); Sept. 19-21: vs. Pittsburgh (3); Sept. 22-24: vs. Colorado (3); Sept. 26-28: at Atlanta (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Milwaukee (3)

The NL Wild Card Race as of Sept. 13

Tuesday’s Results

Colorado 6, Chicago Cubs 4

Atlanta 7, Philadelphia 6

Milwaukee 3, Miami 1

New York Mets 7, Arizona 4

Cleveland 3, San Francisco 1

Cincinnati 6, Detroit 5 (10 innings)

(Top three teams clinch Wild Card berths)

Philadelphia (79-66): +3.5 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 14)

Chicago Cubs (78-68): +2.0 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 15)

Arizona (76-70): — (Magic Number to clinch: 17)

Cincinnati (75-71): 1.0 GB

San Francisco (74-71): 1.5 GB

Miami (74-71): 1.5 GB

What’s Left?

Philadelphia (17): Wednesday: vs. Atlanta (1); Friday-Sunday: at St. Louis (3); Sept. 18-20: at Atlanta (3); Sept. 21-24: vs. New York Mets (4); Sept. 26-28: vs. Pittsburgh (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at New York Mets (3)

Arizona (16): Wednesday-Thursday: at New York Mets (2); Friday-Sunday: vs. Chicago Cubs (3); Sept. 19-20: vs. San Francisco (2); Sept. 22-24: at New York Yankees (3); Sept. 25-27: at Chicago White Sox (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: vs. Houston (3)

Cincinnati (16): Wednesday-Thursday: at Detroit (2); Friday-Sunday: at New York Mets (3); Sept. 18-20: vs. Minnesota (3); Sept. 22-24: vs. Pittsburgh (3); Sept. 26-27: at Cleveland (2); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at St. Louis (3)

Miami (17): Wednesday-Thursday: at Milwaukee (2); Friday-Sunday: vs. Atlanta (3); Sept. 18-20: vs. New York Mets (3); Sept. 22-24: vs. Milwaukee (3); Sept. 26-28: at New York Mets (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Pittsburgh (3)

San Francisco (17): Wednesday: vs. Cleveland (1); Thursday-Sunday: at Colorado (4); Sept. 19-20: at Arizona (2); Sept. 21-24: at Los Angeles Dodgers (4); Sept. 25-27: vs. San Diego (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (3)