The Chicago Cubs are rolling as the team has won 7 of their last 10 games and are closing in on the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot in the National League Central division.
For the first time since 2020, the Cubs are playing meaningful baseball during the month of September. With that in mind, here is a refresher on what magic number means.
"a number that represents a combination of wins for a leader (such as in a baseball pennant race) and losses for a contender which mathematically guarantees the leader's winning the championship"Merriam Webster
Scoreboard watching is now in full effect.
Entering play on Thursday, the Cus are only 1.5 games behind the Miwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central division.
What is the Chicago Cubs magic number to win the National League Central?
Entering play on Thursday, the Cubs' magic number sits at 22 game.
The update to the magic numbers comes after the Brewers' disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon. The game between the Pirates and Brewers ended with a controversial strike-three call.
CB Bucknor just did Cubs' fans a favor with that call. The ball was when on the way to the third base dugout and instead of the Brewers having the tying and go-ahead runs on base, the game ended with a terrible strike-three call.
There is a strong chance that the race between the Cubs and Brewers will come down to the final weekend of the regular season. It is a weekend where the Cubs will travel to Milwaukee to play the Brewers in a three-game set.
The good news for the Cubs is that the team is sitting comfortably as the second wild-card team in the National League, after the Cubs sweep of the San Francisco Giants, the Cubs are now 3.5 games ahead of the Miami Marlins for the second Wild Card spot.
To that end, the Cubs' magic number to clinch the second wild-card spot is 19.