NL Central Intelligence: A Look Around the Division for the Week of August 26

It’s the last month of the season and that means September call-ups and one last run at trying to make a playoff spot. *Said in the Jim Mora voice* PLAYOFFS?! YOU KIDDIN’ ME? PLAYOFFS?!

Chicago Cubs

• The Cubs are the first NL team to 80 wins and now own a commanding 4.5-game lead with 27 to play. Their magic number is 23.
• Daniel Murphy has been, well, Daniel Murphy since coming over to the Cubs. He is slashing .311/.340/.511 with two home runs and has really jump-started the offense.
• Kris Bryant returned from a long DL stint on Saturday night against the Phillies. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored in a 7-1 Cubs win.
• This week vs the Mets, the Cubs took the two games started by Noah Sundergaard and Jacob deGrom. They are now 8-0 in games started by deGrom, Syndergaard, Clayton Kershaw, Mike Foltynewicz, Kyle Freeland, and Aaron Nola this season. All of those names are All-Stars or legitimate Cy Young candidates. The Cubs are good, folks.

St. Louis Cardinals

• The Cards continue to play well and have the second-best record in the national league at 76-60 and are atop the Wild Card standings.
• The “interim” tag has been removed from Mike Shildt’s title and he is now the permanent replacement for Mike Matheny.
• Matt Carpenter is a big reason for Shildt’s title being removed. He currently has 35 home runs and has a real chance for 40, putting hit at the top of the list of NL MVP candidates.
• Add Austin Gomber to the roll of good young Cardinals’ pitching. He has pitched in 24 games and made 7 starts with a 2.77 ERA.

Milwaukee Brewers

• It looks like the Brewers are just running on fumes right now. They are still clinging to the second Wild Card position, but have dropped to third place at 76-61.
• Looking to get some more pop for the last stretch of the season, the Crew traded for veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson.
• Speaking of trades, the Brewers finally got their starting pitcher, acquiring Gio Gonzalez at the waiver trade deadline.
• Christian Yelich added to his MVP case, hitting for the cycle in a 6-for-6 performance against the Reds on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh Pirates

• It’s all about just finishing above .500 for the Bucs. It is doable, as the head into the last few weeks at 66-70.
• After acquiring Adeiny Hechavarria for the playoff run, the Pirates traded him to the Yankees on Friday, allowing them to clear a spot for guys like Kevin Newman.
• Chris Archer finally had a good start on Saturday night against the Braves, pitching six innings and giving up just one earned run. He carried a no-hitter into the 6th.
• Trevor Williams’ ERA is now down to 3.30. This guy has broken out and this Pirates rotation can be pretty formidable moving forward.

Cincinnati Reds

• This is a team that is just playing out the stretch, but they are showing glimpses of the future. Their record is 58-78.
• Joey Votto returned from injury and went just 3-for-13 in his first action. Votto has gotten off to some slow starts the past couple seasons, so seeing him come back slow is not all that surprising.
• Michael Lorenzen hit another home run on Wednesday. He now has four on the season, which is the most among pitchers.
• Cincinnati is going to have to address the Homer Bailey situation soon. Bailey currently has a 6.13 ERA, a .313 batting average against, and has given up 23 home runs in just over 100 innings. He has not made a full season worth of starts since 2013, but the good news is he is only signed through next season.