Cubs Magic Number: When Is Earliest They Can Clinch?

The Cubs just need one more win or one loss by the Arizona Diamondbacks to secure a spot in the postseason. The Diamondbacks will play the Colorado Rockies on the road for three games before taking on the San Diego Padres in their final series of the postseason.

The Cubs will want to make sure that the series between the Diamondbacks and the Padres has no bearing on their own postseason hopes. Luckily for them, all they have to do to make sure that happens is win one game. The Cubs are still playing for seeding, as they want to host a Wild Card Series. However, the Cubs have the same record as the San Diego Padres entering play on Monday.

Both of those teams are only one game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cubs, Phillies and Padres could still finish in any order in the wild card standings, meaning it's hard to tell who the Cubs would play in the first round. They could play either of those teams or the Atlanta Braves, assuming the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers claim byes.