The Atlanta Braves had a historic night Wednesday, in which Ronald Acuña Jr. stole his 69th and 70th base to become the first player ever to have a 40/70 season. After stealing his 70th base, the Braves walked it off against the Chicago Cubs with an Ozzie Albies single.
After losing to the Braves, the Cubs are now tied with the Miami Marlins for the third wild card spot. However, with a tough schedule versus the Brewers coming up to close the regular season, it now seems unlikely the Cubs will be able to make the playoffs unless they can win the remainder of their games.
The Cubs hold a 82-76 record, the same as the Marlins. But the Marlins are going to play the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Cubs will have to start a three-game series versus the Milwaukee Brewers. Both of them will have to face relatively tough opponents, but the Pirates should be easier to beat.
Could the Cubs make the postseason with tough opponent up soon?
The Cubs have a 5-5 record versus the Brewers in 2023. However, with the Brewers being division rivals, they could and will try much harder to eliminate the Cubs. The Pirates have turned around their franchise in 2023, but the Marlins completely owned them with a 3-1 record, with all the games ending within three runs.
Not many games remain, with four left for each the Cubs and Marlins. The Cubs only have a 29.5 percent chance to clinch a postseason spot, while the Marlins now have a 69.2 percent chance of clinching a spot, according to FanGraphs.
Both of these teams are having an amazing 2023 season, but at the end of the day, people will only remember the winners. It seems the Marlins are likely going to be the biggest underdog story of the 2023 postseason if they can keep things going.
