Cubs Magic Number: Despite brutal loss, Chicago remains on the path to October

The Chicago Cubs' meltdown at Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon led to a series loss to the Washington Nationals, not to mention the potential loss of breakout closer Daniel Palencia, who departed in the ninth due to injury. It certainly didn't create any sense of optimism or have fans looking ahead to October, despite the emotional induction of Sammy Sosa and Derrek Lee into the Cubs Hall of Fame.

Blowing a game in such dramatic fashion, paired with the lingering uncertainty around the status of Kyle Tucker and, to a lesser degree, Pete Crow-Armstrong seem to have more fans focused on the Chicago Bears kicking off their 2025-26 season against the Minnesota Vikings Monday night instead of a potential return to the postseason for the North Siders.

The Cubs' magic number dropped on Sunday, despite their loss, thanks to the St. Louis Cardinals beating the San Francisco Giants for the second time in as many days. Bob Melvin's club is the first in line, on the outside looking in, which means their loss cut the Cubs' magic number to clinch a postseason berth down to 11.

That's right. All signs still point to the Cubs playing in the postseason.

Cubs' magic number falls to 11 with 19 games left in the regular season

Entering Monday, Chicago leads the San Diego Padres and New York Mets by three games for the top spot in the NL Wild Card race. Should that lead hold, the Cubs would play host in the Wild Card Round, with the winner advancing to take on the overall #1 seed Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field.

A Cubs-Brewers showdown in the NLDS would be must-see TV given the Brewers' recent dominance in the National League Central and the only slightly disguised barbs the teams have traded of late. But before we can talk about that - or even think about it - Chicago must finish the task at hand and close out a regular season that's certainly had its fill of ups and downs.

Chicago opens a set against the Braves in Atlanta Monday before an off-day Thursday preceding a quick three-game weekend home series against Tampa Bay. The Cubs then hit the road for a seven-game swing in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati (the latter of which could carry major postseason implications for the Reds) before returning home to close out the 2025 season with three apiece against the Mets and Cardinals.