With division race over, Cubs turn attention to home-field advantage

CINCINNATI – In the pregame hours on Sunday, when a tarp covered the Great American Ball Park infield and inclement weather in the forecast forced a delayed start, the game between the Nationals and Mets was broadcast on the large videoboard behind left field. Fans roared when Washington grabbed an early lead.

For the Cubs, a postseason spot is already secured, but the environment this weekend in Cincinnati showed the urgency that still exists for some other teams. The North Siders were outplayed across the four-game series, dropping the finale, 1-0, to hand the National League Central to the Brewers and help the Reds climb back into the October picture.

“Playing teams now that are fighting for their lives,” Cubs starter Jameson Taillon said, “that’s what every game in the playoffs looks like. It’s just understanding that’s the level we have to be at, intensity-wise. I think it’s probably good to see right now.”

After an off-day on Monday, the Cubs have a six-game homestand remaining with three games apiece against the Mets and Cardinals. With their fifth win in a row, the Reds have overtaken the Mets for the NL’s third Wild Card spot. The Padres occupy the second slot, sitting five games up on Cincinnati and three games back of the Cubs.

The goal coming into this season for Chicago was to fly an NL Central champions flag, but Milwaukee’s incredible second-half surge took that off the table.

“Look, they’re having a great season,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “They’ve got the best record in the game by a pretty good margin.”

Now, the focus for the Cubs officially shifts to securing home-field advantage for the best-of-three NL Wild Card round, which begins on Sept. 30.

“The last four days didn’t go our way,” Counsell said. “But essentially, we’ve got something in front of us for this last week, and we’ve got to look at that as a good thing. We want to win some games this week and earn that, and earn home games.”

In the event of a deadlock in overall record between the Cubs and Padres, the home-field would come down to tiebreaker scenarios.

Chicago and San Diego tied in their season series, 3-3, so the next tiebreaker would be intradivision record. In that category, San Diego (29-20 vs. NL West) would have the edge over the Cubs (27-22 vs. NL Central). If those records are even (the Padres end the season with three games against the D-backs), Interleague Play showing breaks the tie (the Cubs are 30-18, while the Padres are 20-28).

With the Mets coming to Wrigley Field this week, the Cubs will have a role to play in how the full Wild Card picture comes into focus. The Mets and D-backs are just outside the field right now, while Cincinnati has made a surprising push to be on the October stage.

Hunter Greene blew through the Cubs with a 1-0 shutout win in Thursday’s opener. In the next two games, Cincinnati outscored Chicago, 13-7, combined and launched eight homers in the process. The Cubs’ starting lineup went quiet on Sunday – lacking Kyle Tucker (injured list), Pete Crow-Armstrong (scheduled day off) and Matt Shaw (attending the funeral of a friend, per Counsell) – to spoil an efficient, seven-inning outing from Taillon.

“It’s been a playoff atmosphere for us since the first game of the series,” Reds pitcher Nick Martinez said. “And we’re playing really well – real tough and relentless.”

Count Taillon among those who are not shocked by how the Reds have played of late.

“To be completely honest, I was surprised they weren’t in the Wild Card spot [already],” Taillon said. “Every time we face them, I walk away thinking, ‘That’s a good baseball team.’ They do a lot of things really well. They run the bases well. They have guys that can steal. They’ve got some power.

“We saw Hunter Greene at the top of his game. That’s pretty elite. I wouldn’t want to face him in a playoff series. Obviously, [we] would have loved to get out of here with some wins, but that’s a team that’s extremely motivated and playing for their lives.”

Now, the Cubs will turn their attention to the final six games of the season, knowing there are still boxes to check before the playoffs arrive.

“You want to go into the playoffs with momentum,” Taillon said. “Hopefully we just take the off-day tomorrow, regroup, come in Tuesday refreshed. We get to play at home. I think it’s going to be exciting to play in front of the Wrigley fans again, especially since we clinched a spot on the road. We have something to play for.”