An Overview of the Cubs' Remaining 2026 Schedule

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The Cubs come home Friday to face two division rivals, the Reds and Brewers, which will wrap up August and begin the final month of the 2026 regular season. The Cubs have had a tight grip on the top NL Wild Card spot for the entirety of the second half, and will have no problem cruising to a playoff berth for the second consecutive season. Holding onto that first Wild Card spot is the key, though, and that part won't be easy—the Phillies have pulled within four games of Chicago.

The injured list will remain a key storyline for September, as it has been for the entirety of the season. Last week, Dansby Swanson went down with an oblique injury that will cost him at least a month and could end his season. The good news is that Matt Shaw is playing in rehab games and should be back very soon. On the pitching side, more injury returns loom, though Ben Brown's became less likely this week after the stress reaction in his neck flared up again. This is a survive-and-advance situation, with an eye toward being as healthy and ready to thrive as possible come October.

Remaining Cubs Schedule at a Glance

Games Remaining: 28
Home / Road: 16/12
Games vs .500 teams: 19
Remaining Strength of Schedule: 2nd-toughest in MLB

What to Watch

Postseason Pitching Staff
As mentioned earlier, the pitching staff is going to look a lot different over the next couple of weeks. Before the trade deadline, the potential playoff rotation looked quite bleak, but with the additions of Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, the Cubs can form a competent group of four starters for the postseason. The locks will be Gausman, Holmes, and Matthew Boyd. After that, there are a few options. Shota Imanaga is having a strong season, but we all remember how the postseason went for him last year. He may have the chance to start, but with Edward Cabrera or David Peterson ready to go early on in case he struggles.

Cabrera, who should be returning from his blister-related IL stint soon, could earn a postseason start in a five-game series if he can string together two or three quality starts in September. (The "if" in that sentence, though, is doing chest presses with a Corvette.) The most interesting option here is Brown, who looked like an All-Star before going down with a neck injury that has sidelined him since June. His 1.4 fWAR as a starter leads the Cubs, but there's zero chance he returns in that role. Even a return to the bullpen is much less likely now; we'll have to see what the next medical update on him is.

As for the bullpen, we can rule out Hunter Harvey or Phil Maton coming back. Though the team is better off without Maton, Harvey would have been a wild card of sorts, as he has only thrown four innings this season but has generally been effective throughout his career. The three names to watch are Hoby Milner, Shelby Miller, and Justin Steele. Milner and Miller have each begun their rehab assignments, with Steele set to begin his over the next week or so. Milner could push Caleb Thielbar off the roster, if he looks good enough and is at full strength by the end of his rehab clock. Both Miller and Steele would be making their first appearances of the 2026 season, but would be eligible for the postseason since they are already in the organization. Any contributions from these two would be gravy, but if they are healthy and effective, the Cubs may have just found another two high-leverage bullpen arms.

Can the Cubs Still Win the NL Central?

In a word: no. While the Cubs travel home from Arizona Thursday, the Brewers will play one more game against the Mets, which will decide whether the Cubs are 6 or 7 games behind Milwaukee heading into the weekend. Chicago got closer to the Crew for a while last month, but never really threatened to take over, and their recent sag has them closer to falling out of the postseason altogether than to catching Pat Murphy's club.

By September 10, the Cubs and Brewers will have played another seven times, which at least keeps the door open a crack for the challengers. They'd need to win at least five of the seven to pull back within striking distance, though, and that's the same number they'd need to win to gain the tiebreaker advantage. That feels unlikely, and even if it comes to fruition, there will be more hurdles to clear.

Strength of Schedule and the Phillies’ Resurgence

As mentioned earlier, the Phillies are gaining significant ground on the Cubs for the top Wild Card spot. Chicago is only two games ahead, and one more game ahead of the Padres. These two teams don't play each other again, and the Phillies have a slightly easier (but still tough) remaining schedule. The Cubs’ most difficult foes are the aforementioned Brewers, plus three at home versus Atlanta and three on the road against Boston. The Phillies are lucky in that they still have nine combined games against the Angels, Mets, and Nationals, but they still have 16 against divisional leaders in Milwaukee, Atlanta, Houston and Tampa Bay.

The key for the Cubs is to take advantage of the Reds and Marlins, whom they play another six times each. They will also have an advantage when Pittsburgh comes to town in a few weeks. The Cubs are a stronger team, by fundamentals. The Phillies have had some surprise contributions from their unsung heroes like Edmundo Sosa and Bryan De la Cruz, but Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, and Alec Bohm have not been at the top of their games. Although the Cubs have a tough schedule, their offense (plus the reinforcements to the pitching staff and more games at home than on the road) should still make the top Wild Card spot theirs to lose. It's just not going to be as easy as the team might have hoped it would be, as recently as a few weeks ago.