CHICAGO — In a season with so many teams clustered in the top couple of tiers of baseball’s standings, one day can shake things up for a team. So it was on Wednesday for the Chicago Cubs, who can see their immediate future with a lot more clarity now than when the day started.
The Cubs’ 10-3 rout of the Mets didn’t change their place in the National League seeding hierarchy, but it did solidify it, an appropriate outcome on a day when Chicago’s roster appears to be taking its eventual postseason shape. It also snapped a season-worst skid.
The Cubs got production up and down their lineup while dispatching of a Mets team desperately clinging to the NL’s last playoff slot. Rookie Matt Shaw homered among his three hits, Michael Busch‘s two-run homer was his 31st of the season and electric center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong scored from second base on a Clay Holmes wild pitch when the Mets righty failed to cover the plate, igniting the Wrigley Field crowd.
“Wrigley’s already got [electricity] in it, like everybody that shows up is ready to party,” Crow-Armstrong said. “So I think everybody knows that we’re getting close to October baseball, and with that feeling in the air, being able to embrace that is the most fun thing ever.”
The Cubs’ offense has been up and down during the second half of the season, but Wednesday’s game was a reminder that when their attack is rolling, they can beat a team with power or speed.
“It’s our brand of baseball,” said Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, beneficiary of the Cubs’ onslaught. “We slugged, we scrapped across runs, we manufactured runs, we kind of did a little bit of everything. That’s the danger, the potency in this lineup, that we beat you in multiple ways.”
This all backed a solid 5⅓ innings from Boyd, who earned his 14th win of the season, allowing just two runs. For Boyd, whom the Cubs signed as a free agent last winter even though he logged just 39⅔ innings last season for Cleveland, it was a fitting end to a regular season in which he started 31 times, his most since 2019.
“I get to go play in front of these fans,” Boyd said. “Like tonight, they just give you so much energy. It felt like a playoff atmosphere, but they’ve been doing that since April. I’m just so grateful for everything.”
In terms of playoff implications, just as important for the Cubs who replaced Boyd, closer Daniel Palencia worked in middle relief hours after being activated from the IL.
Palencia, whose 22 saves lead the Cubs, retired both batters he faced, striking out one and cracking 100 mph with his fastball. Palencia had been out since Sept. 7 because of a right shoulder strain.
“We just need to get Daniel in games,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “But it was really good to get Daniel back, and he looked good.”
Palencia’s return buoys the Cubs’ bullpen days before the start of the postseason. More good roster news could be in the offing later this week. Counsell said before Wednesday’s game that the club is hoping to welcome star right fielder Kyle Tucker back to the active roster Friday, at least as a DH initially.
If that comes to pass, the Cubs’ roster will look a lot more complete than it did just one day before, when they squandered a five-run lead and fell 9-7 to the Mets for their season-worst fifth straight loss. That defeat returned the gaze of Cubs fans to the NL standings, where the San Diego Padres had moved within 1½ games of the Cubs in the race for the fourth seed — and home-field advantage when the clubs play next week in the wild-card round. Securing that spot is the Cubs’ lone remaining regular-season goal, and it’s a big one.
“I just think that’s hugely important,” Crow-Armstrong said. “We know how to play ball here. We love embracing everything that comes with this place.”
Wednesday’s win was coupled with San Diego’s loss to Milwaukee, putting the Cubs firmly in control of that race. For now, though, the Cubs remain more focused on themselves than on what the Padres are doing.
“It’s a slippery slope if you watch other teams, wanting certain situations and whatnot,” Boyd said. “We take care of our business, things will work out. All the focus, all the energy, should be focused on what we do, right?”
