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The Cubs defeated the Cardinals 10-5 in the final game of the season, and the Brewers defeated a little league team to tie up the Central. For the first time since 1908 (when the Cubs beat the NY Giants in a tiebreaker for the NL pennant (thanks Merkle)), the Cubs will play a tiebreaker to decide who wins the Central Division.

Anthony Rizzo did his part by making this his fourth season in a row with 100 or more RBIs!

Game 163 will be tomorrow at 12:05 CST at Wrigley. The winner will be the NL Central Champions and go on to host the NLDS on Thursday. The loser will host the Wild Card game on Tuesday against either the Rockies or the Dodgers (also tied).

The magic number currently tracks the Division, so a win for the Cubs would drop it to 0. In either case, after tomorrow, the number will reset to countdown the wins needed to be World Champions!

Fasten your seat belts, it's playoffs time!

Photo Credit: Chicago Cubs

For Today:

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ALERT: All games are free to stream on mlb.tv today. It must be out of your market of course. GO CUBS!!!

Kyle Hendricks went 8 innings giving up two runs on seven hits.  The Cubs struck in the first against Adam Wainwright likely making the last start of his career as they scored two runs thanks to Murphy and Rizzo singling and Zobrist walking in between them.

Kris Bryant hit his 13th HR of the year a 448 foot shot to dead CF and Rizzo then collected his 99th RBI on the season with a sacrifice fly.  Murphy then followed with a sacrifice fly in the 7th that scored Hendricks who walked to start the inning.

The Cubs added three runs in the 8th off of Jordan Hicks to make 8-2 and Jorge De La Rosa came in to get the last three outs.

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Hey hey! The boys in blue came out swinging in tonight's must win final game against the Pirates 3-0! They take the Pirates season series 10-9. The Cubs now lead the Brewers by one game in the Central with three games to go.

Jon Lester took his 18th win with the help of 10 hits including a triple from David Bote that scored two!

The Cubs now have a final three game series against the Cardinals at Wrigley. At the same time, the Brewers have a three game set against the Tigers at Wrigley North.

Any combination of three Cubs victories and/or Brewers losses would crown the North Siders champions of the NL Central Division for the third consecutive season!

Fasten your seat belts, and stay with us as the Cubs prepare for their fourth consecutive trip to the playoffs!

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Holy cow! The first place, NL-best Chicago Cubs beat the Pirates 7-6 in extras on Wednesday night, lowering their magic number to win the NL Central Division to 4! Earlier, the Cards lost, guaranteeing the Cubs a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season!

Any combination of four Cubs victories and/or Brewers losses would crown the North Siders champions of the NL Central Division for the third consecutive season!

The Cubs-Pirates series wraps up Thursday night at Wrigley, and the Cardinals head to the Friendly Confines Friday to kick off a three-game set. 158 regular season games down, 4 to go.

Go Cubs go!

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The first place, NL-best Chicago Cubs got shut out at Wrigley on Tuesday night, dropping the game to the Pirates 6-0. Meanwhile, the Brewers beat the Cards to keep the Cubs' magic number at five.

Any combination of five Cubs victories and/or Brewers losses would make the North Siders the NL Central Division champs for the third consecutive season!

One more Cubs victory – their 92nd – would clinch at least a Wild Card berth, as the only other teams that can reach 92 wins are the Brewers, Dodgers, and Rockies. One of the latter two will be NL West champs, leaving four teams in the mix for the final three playoff spots (NL Central champs and two Wild Card teams): the Cubs, Dodgers or Rockies, Brewers, and Cardinals. Since a 92nd win would guarantee the Cubs a better record than the Cards, they'd slot into one of those three playoff spots ahead of the Cards.

How about we stick to simpler math and focus on winning a division title?!? The Cubs-Pirates series continues Wednesday at the Friendly Confines. 157 regular season games down, 5 to go.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credit:  Chicago Cubs

 Clark & Addison with Mac at Wrigley!

 The man, the myth, the legend:  Mac!

Mac's kids at the Friendly Confines

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Tough night at Wrigley on Monday, as the Cubs dropped the series opener to the Bucs 5-1 despite a quality start -- and a solo homer -- from Cole Hamels (6 IP, 2 ER, 7 K).

Meanwhile, the Cards blew a 4-3 lead and lost to the Brewers in a back-and-forth affair, shaving the Cubs' lead in the division to 1.5 games.

Any combination of five Cubs wins and/or Brewers losses would clinch the North Siders' third consecutive NL Central title!

The Cubs-Pirates series continues Tuesday at Wrigley. 156 regular season games down, 6 to go. 

Go Cubs go!

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All nine Cubs hitters had at least one hit and Kyle Hendricks the Professor was stellar over 7 and 2/3 innings giving up four hits and a run while striking out five and walking none.  The Cubs offense struck early putting up a three run spot in the first and kept adding on with one in the second and two in the third.

Ben Zobrist was 3-6 to bring his batting average to .314 on the year, Anthony Rizzo had a first inning RBI double, his 96th RBI on the season and Javy Baez had a double, his 81st extra base hit of the season, the most by a Cub since Derek Lee in 2005.  Kyle Schwarber also hit his 26th HR of the year and first off a LHP this season.

With the 6-1 win against the White Sox they clinch the season series 4-2 and will now play their last seven games at home at Wrigley field as the Pirates will come to town next for four.  Tomorrow Cole Hamels will face off against Jameson Tallion at 7:05 CST.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoFSa-0nvdm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Huge night on the Southside! The Cubs defeat the Sox 8-3, and the Brewers fall to the Pirates 3-0. The number drops twice!

The 90th season win came by way of a Baez two run homer bringing the future MVP to 34 home runs and 110 RBIs! Ben Zobrist put the Southsiders to bed with a two run base hit. Lester took his 17th win.

The Cubs finish the Crosstown Classic tomorrow before starting the final week of the season at the Friendly Confines!

We are three wins away from the post season and six away from being NL Central Champs!

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Brewers fall to the Pirates. Chances are this number won't stay for long. Stay tuned!

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Holy cow! The Cubs crushed the Diamondbacks 9-1 in Phoenix on Tuesday night behind a quality start from Mike Montgomery (6 IP, 1 ER, 8 K) and some serious offensive efficiency -- 9 runs on their first 9 hits -- highlighted by two-run homers from Javy Baez and Daniel Murphy. El Mago's homer, his 33rd of the season, raised his NL-best RBI total to 107 and was immediately preceded by a 17-pitch at bat by Rizzo. That's Cub.

Meanwhile, the Brewers dropped their game to the Reds, lowering the CMN by two in one day!

The Cubs wrap up their series Wednesday against the Diamondbacks before enjoying a long-overdue off day Thursday in Chicago, where they'll head to the South Side for three games against the White Sox starting Friday.  151 regular season games down, 11 to go.

Go Cubs go!

 Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs / MLB

Photo Credit:  Jonathan Daniel

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Brewers fall to the Reds! Cubs are up against the Diamondbacks, so stay tuned...

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Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win! The first place, NL-best Chicago Cubs beat the Diamondbacks 5-1 on Monday night in Phoenix behind a dominant start from Kyle Hendricks (8.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 8 K) and homers from Baez & Bryant.

Albert Almora had a 2-for-5 night with two runs scored, KB went 2-for-3, Zobrist raised his season average to .314 (3rd best in the NL) with a 2-for-4 night, Rizzo scored and drove in a run, and El Mago's HR was his 32nd of the season. He leads the NL with 105 RBI.

The series continues tomorrow in Phoenix. 150 regular season games down, 12 to go!

Go Cubs go!

Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs

Photo Credit:  Chicago Magazine

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Brewers dropped Sunday's game to the Bucs at Miller Park, dropping the CMN! The Cubs dropped the series finale to the Reds at Wrigley.

The North Siders head to Phoenix Monday to kick off a three-game set against the Diamondbacks. 149 regular season games down, 13 to go.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs

Photo Credit:  Christian Petersen