Chicago Cubs Magic Number Watch: 10 Games to Go
The Chicago Cubs (89-41) won yesterday and that automatically lowers their magic number by one game. What we didn’t know, that we do know now, was if the Cardinals would win or lose. They actually won, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates by the score of 12-6. So the Cubs magic number is now 10.
Any combination of 10 wins by the Cubs or losses by the second place team and the Cubs will win the National League Central. Here are the current standings and corresponding elimination numbers.
| Central | W | L | PCT | GB | E# | L10 | NEXT GAME |
| Chi Cubs | 89 | 48 | .650 | – | – | 7-3 | 9/6 @ MIL, 8:10 PM |
| St. Louis | 72 | 64 | .529 | 16.5 | 10 | 5-5 | 9/6 @ PIT, 7:05 PM |
| Pittsburgh | 67 | 68 | .496 | 21.0 | 6 | 3-7 | 9/6 vs STL, 7:05 PM |
| Milwaukee | 60 | 77 | .438 | 29.0 | E | 4-6 | 9/6 vs CHC, 8:10 PM |
| Cincinnati | 57 | 79 | .419 | 31.5 | E | 3-7 | 9/6 vs NYM, 7:10 PM |
The Cubs currently have an impressive .650 win percentage. If they keep winning at that pace they will finish the season with 105 wins. That would be an impressive total and would match the number of wins we predicted at the beginning of the season in our opening day post (you can read that here).
In the race for the best record in the National League, and home field advantage through the NLCS, the Cubs and Washington Nationals (80-57) are the two closest teams, although it’s not really that close. The Cubs magic number to clinch the best record in the National League is 17 games. They currently lead the Nationals by 9 games for the best record.
If the playoffs started today, the Cubs would host the winner of the Wildcard game. The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants currently hold the Wildcard spots but the New York Mets are lurking just one game back.