The Chicago Cubs are postseason bound. They are so far joined in the National League by the National League East Division champion Philadelphia Phillies and the National League Central Division leading Milwaukee Brewers.
On Wednesday, the Cubs clinched a playoff spot in the senior circuit by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-4 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With the win, the Cubs improved to a record of 88 wins and 64 losses, and have clinched one of the three National League wildcard spots. The Cubs still have hopes of catching the Brewers for the National League Central Division crown. The Brewers lead at this time is five games.
In the Cubs’s memorable Wednesday win, Chicago got off to a great start as they scored four runs in the first inning. Two Cubs hit a first inning dinger as left fielder Ian Happ came back to his birthplace of Pittsburgh and hit a 403 foot shot that also scored second baseman Nico Hoerner of Oakland, California. At the time, the Cubs went up 3-0. Immediately after Happ’s home run, Cubs designated hitter (still strange to write as the National League did not have a DH for almost a century and a half) Moises Ballesteros of Los Teques, Venezuela hit a 410 foot solo dinger to right field and put the Cubs up 4-0 at the time.
It was a strong relief outing by Aaron Civale of East Windsor, Connecticut, who had three shutout innings for the Cubs and got the win. He also had three strikeouts.
It has been a bizarre season for Civale. He began the year with the Milwaukee Brewers. After five starts, Civale was headed to the bullpen after only winning one game. However, Civale did not want to be in the bullpen, and told the Brewers that. He was subsequently traded to the Chicago White Sox, one of the worst teams in baseball. Civale went 2-7 in 13 starts and had an awful earned run average of 5.37. Civale was then put on waivers by the White Sox, and picked up by the Cubs on August 31. Guess where the Cubs put Civale? The bullpen, and he has remarkably excelled with an ERA of 1.13 after eight innings of work!
