The Cubs have an eight-game lead on the Nationals for the No. 1 seed in the NL playoffs, with a magic number of nine. So barring a very strange end to the season, the Cubs will open their postseason on October 7 against the winner of the wild card game. That means that Cubs fans, in addition to sweating John Lackey’s shoulder and Pedro Strop’s knee and Jason Heyward’s bat, have an interest in Johnny Cueto’s groin and Aledmys Diaz’s thumb and Steven Matz’s shoulder.
With nods to the Pirates and Marlins, the Cubs’ opponent in the Division Series is almost certain — 97.