MLB Playoff Picture 2018: Chicago Cubs Still In Driver's Seat For NL Central, No.1 Seed

The Chicago Cubs have secured a spot in the 2018 MLB playoffs, but they still have plenty to play for over the final four games of the regular season. The defending NL Central champs are looking to repeat as division winners and avoid playing in the single-game elimination wild-card game.

The Milwaukee Brewers have made sure that the Cubs haven’t been able to coast toward October baseball. They’ve erased a six-game deficit since Aug. 28, pulling to within a half-game of Chicago.

A trip straight to the NLCS isn’t the only thing that’s on the line for both teams. The NL Central winner will almost certainly earn home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs. The Atlanta Braves have clinched the NL East title, and they have three fewer wins than both Chicago and Milwaukee. The Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers both are four games behind the Cubs and Brewers in the win column as they do battle in the NL West.

Chicago has struggled in September, playing .500 baseball over their last 18 games. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in 10 innings Wednesday to maintain their lead atop the division. Milwaukee is on a four-game winning streak. The Brewers eliminated the St. Louis Cardinals from the NL Central race with a three-game sweep of their divisional rivals.

The momentum might be with the Brewers, who have gone 19-7 since trailing the Cubs by six games late last month. Chicago, however, still controls their destiny with the ability to take a one-game lead when they host Pittsburgh Thursday night.

Milwaukee certainly has an easier schedule to end the season. They’ll host the Detroit Tigers, who are long out of the playoff race with nothing on the line. Chicago will host St. Louis for three games. The Cardinals are one game out of the second wild-card spot.

Kyle Hendricks, Cole Hamels and Mike Montgomery are lined up to start in Chicago’s final three games. If Chicago and Milwaukee finish in a tie, they’ll face each other Monday with the division on the line.

The Cubs have won the NL Central in each of the last two seasons. They’ve reached the NLDS in each of the last three years.