5

Cubs beat Wacha and the Cards 5-4 in a heartstopper! The bullpen combined for a great group effort (nevermind the 9th before Strop entered the game), an UNBELIEVABLE game-ending play by Russell, and another great game by Bryant that included a moon shot HR into the wind, 2 R, 2 RBI, and a defensive gem at a key moment.

Props to Travis Wood, who started the game and has a line of 2 ER and 21 K in his last 13 IP.  Clutch!

The win moves the Cubs 0.5 GB of the Pirates, who play tonight at LA. The Giants lost to the D-Backs Saturday, so they are now 10 GB of the Cubs for the second wild card spot.

The Cubs Magic Numbers are:  5 for a wild card berth, 16 to clinch home field advantage in one-off Wild Card game, and 20 to win the NL Central.

Interestingly, the Cubs lead the season series with the Bucs 10-6 with three head-to-head games remaining. So, they've locked up the tiebreaker for home field advantage in the one-off Wild Card game: if the Cubs & Pirates finish with identical regular-season records, the Cubs would host the NLWC game.

Hat tip to Rachel G and KnoxvilleCubsFan for getting this post rolling and the idea to expand to three CMNs, respectively.