The Cubs’ push toward October has taken an ugly turn at exactly the wrong time.
Alex Bregman, who was in the middle of a scorching stretch, took a check-swing foul ball off the bat of Michael Busch square in the eye while in the on-deck circle over the weekend and suffered multiple facial fractures. He’s missed a few games since then, and Chicago has lost every one of them.
The club’s Magic Number to clinch a postseason berth is still one, so the playoff spot itself remains within reach. But the bigger issue is where the Cubs are headed in the bracket, and Bregman’s absence is making that path messier by the day.
Chicago has opted not to place Bregman on the injured list, which means the Cubs will keep playing short-handed until he’s ready to return. That choice makes sense if the team believes he can be back soon enough to matter in the Wild Card Round. Putting him on the IL would have cost them that availability to open the postseason.
Even so, the damage in the standings is real. The Cubs have dropped out of the NL’s top Wild Card spot and are now close to sliding all the way to the No. 6 seed.
That would send them on the road against either the Padres, if they land the second Wild Card, or the Braves, if they wind up with the third. Chicago has been worse away from Wrigley Field this season than at home, which only adds to the concern.
If the Cubs can hold onto the No. 5 seed or better, a potential NLDS meeting with the Brewers could still be in play, assuming Milwaukee keeps the best record in baseball. That would be a tough draw for Chicago anyway. The Brewers won the season series 9-4, and they also have a clear edge in pitching talent across both the rotation and the bullpen.
For that route to stay alive, the Cubs need more offense than they’ve gotten lately. Without Bregman, they’ve been scoring just two runs per game, and that’s nowhere near enough to steady the ship as the Wild Card race tightens.
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Hendersons run has been the kind that matters when October starts to come into focus. He has set a rookie mark for the lowest WHIP among pitchers with at least 15 starts and matched a streak of consecutive outings in which he allowed three runs or fewer, giving Milwaukee even more depth at a time when the club has already clinched a first-round playoff bye and is closing in on a franchise first 100-win season. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Are One Win From A Milestone Fans Have Never Seen
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Aaron Nola lasted six innings but gave up four runs, and the loss left Milwaukee sitting one win away from a milestone the franchise has never reached. For a team that has spent the summer winning in a lot of different ways, the final stretch now carries a little extra weight, with the next victory standing to mean more than just another mark in the standings. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Woodruffs Brewers Return Now Comes Down To One Step
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The next checkpoint is a round of shoulder imaging that will determine whether Woodruff is ready to start throwing off a mound, a step that would mark real progress in his rehab. If the results are clean and he avoids any setbacks, the Brewers could be looking at a late 2026 return, with the playoffs still part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]