Cubs Week in Review: Reinforcements Put North Siders on Precipice of Postseason

[Thomas Domol]

Image courtesy of Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Cubs' magic number is 1. They haven't quite earned the right to spray champagne, but they moved much closer this week, with back-to-back series wins over the Atlanta club at Wrigley Field and the Cincinnatis at Great American Ballpark.

We've spoken often in this space about how Chicago seems to rise to the level of elite competition. Facing Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Braves in the first of a three-game set at Wrigley Field, that sentiment held up. The capable and increasingly steady David Peterson toed the rubber for the home team, spinning six sparkling, relatively quiet innings. Peterson was fabulous, but as is the case most nights, the club's MVP center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong stole the show. The 10,000 earliest-arriving of the roughly 38,000 fans in attendance clutched their Seiya Suzuki bobbleheads, looking on in wonder as Crow-Armstrong tied Billy Williams for the franchise's single-season home run record for a left-handed batter. The North Siders sealed the opener, 7-3. 

One night removed from a historic celebration of Crow-Armstrong's excellence, the squad's erratic pitching staff dealt a sobering reality check. Starter Kevin Gausman's shaky 5 2/3 innings gave way to a clean third of an inning for Daniel Palencia. From there, however, Jacob Webb and Edward Cabrera's first relief appearance doomed the home team. The Cubs don't get away with many off nights from their offense, which plated just three runs and stranded seven baserunners in a 6-3 loss. 

After that frustration, the squad's 8-4, series-winning victory in the final game of the tilt felt cathartic, as well as being deeply needed in the standings. Locked into a groove lately, Shota Imanaga collected his 11th win of the year—a six-inning, eight-strikeout gem. With third baseman Alex Bregman coming just a base hit away from the cycle, it was Crow-Armstrong seizing headlines once again, as he crushed his 43rd and 44th home runs of the year with the lights of Wrigley shining brightly.

Basking in the glow of their off-day escapades at the legendary Churchill Downs, the North Siders arrived in Cincinnati to do battle with Terry Francona's charges. The Cubs were slow out of the starting gate (if you will) in the first of a three-game weekend series. Clay Holmes was touched up in his 5 1/3-inning appearance, in which he issued five walks and yielded six earned runs. A silver lining from the visitors came in the form of a two-run knock from Suzuki, as well as a solo shot from Ian Happ, his 24th of the year. More like gold than silver, Dansby Swanson also returned to the lineup—but the cloud was the headline, as the Reds won 6-4.

For as long as anyone who supports this squad can remember, we've been looking for even the slightest glimmer of hope from the much-maligned bullpen. On Saturday night, it came, in the form of a reinvigorated Daniel Palencia. Following a brief but clean outing earlier in the week, Palencia came on in relief of starter Matthew Boyd and delivered two innings of six-up, six-down ball. This wasn't a white-knuckle, high-leverage situation, as the Cubs are likely to find in the postseason, but when combined with spotless turns from Aaron Civale and Ryan Zeferjahn, it was as strong a case as ever that this team could make some noise in October. Swanson homered, announcing his return in full, and Chicago won 5-2. 

Concern for Alex Bregman took up all the air in the room after Chicago's 9-1 series clincher over the Reds. Crow-Armstrong scooped up his 45th homer and 38th stolen base of the season, landing him just two shy of going 40/40. Despite coughing up a solo homer to JJ Bleday, Peterson largely cruised through his six innings. A victory over the Yankees by the Diamondbacks prevented this day from being a more celebratory one, but it was heartening how the North Siders took care of business.

The bubbly will be on ice in the clubhouse Tuesday. The North Siders welcome Miami to the Friendly Confines for the last home series of 2026, before hitting the road to take on the Red Sox for the last three contests of the season. Just how good this team really is a(nd how far a potential playoff run will last) is still undetermined, but it will be fun to find out. 

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