Chicago Cubs (88-69) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (82-75) September 27, 2017 … Busch Stadium … Game No. 158 … Road Game No. 80 RHP John Lackey (11-11, 4.67) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (12-8, 4.00) YOU CAN’T WIN THEM ALL: The Chicago Cubs last night fell to the St. Louis CUBS VS. CARDINALS Cardinals 8-7 to even this four-game series at one win apiece and maintain CUBS RECORD Chicago’s magic number of one to clinch their second-straight N.L. Central title … The Cubs and Cardinals meet for the final 2017 Overall: .......................................... 88-69 the Cubs, who have clinched a tie for the division, would clinch the crown outright time this season, and for the third time at At Wrigley Field: .................................. 46-32 tonight with either a victory vs. St. Louis or a Milwaukee loss to Cincinnati. Busch Stadium … the Cubs won two of three On the Road: ........................................ 42-37 © The Cubs are 11-3 in their last 14 games and 19-9 in their last 28 with five games at Busch Stadium in April before the April: ................................................. 13-11 games left … this four-game series in St. Louis (1-1) completes a 10-game trip Cardinals won two of three here, May 12-14 May:.................................................. 12-16 that started last week in Tampa Bay (1-1) and continued this past weekend in … Chicago, 10-9 against St. Louis last season, June: ................................................. 15-13 Milwaukee (3-1) … the Cubs return home following this series to close out the has now won consecutive season series July ...................................................... 16-8 regular season with three games vs. Cincinnati starting Friday. against the Cardinals for the first time since August: ............................................. 17-12 © The Cubs are 42-29 vs. the N.L. Central, a .592 winning pct., by far the best doing so four-straight years from 2005-08. September: ......................................... 15-9 intra-divisional record of any N.L. Central team (Brewers are second at 37-34). 2017 Overall: ....................................... 12-5 © The Cubs, who reached the NLCS in 2015 and won the World Series last season, All-Time Since 1876: ................. 10,799-10,257 At Wrigley Field: ................................... 8-1 are attempting to reach the postseason in three-consecutive campaigns for the At Wrigley Field (since 1916): ......4,264-3,741 first time since 1906-08. At Busch Stadium: ............................... 4-4 Leading Entering 6th: ............................ 64-10 2016 Overall: ....................................... 10-9 ONE MORE TO GO: The Cubs aim to secure their second-consecutive N.L. Central Tied Entering 6th: .................................. 11-12 At Wrigley Field: ................................... 4-6 crown to become the first defending World Series champions to win their division Trailing Entering 6th: ............................. 13-47 At Busch Stadium: ............................... 6-3 the next season since the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies, who won the N.L. East by six games … the only other defending World Champion to win their division the All-Time Since 1892: ................. 1,219-1,161 following season in the last 15 years was the 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks, who won Leading Entering 7th: .............................. 68-6 At Wrigley Field: ........................... 516-450 the N.L. West by 2.5 games. Tied Entering 7th: .................................. 11-10 At Busch Stadium (since 2006): ......... 46-60 © Furthermore, the Cubs aim to become the first defending World Champion to Trailing Entering 7th: ............................... 9-53 even make the playoffs the next season since the 2012 Cardinals secured a Wild CUBS ON DISABLED LIST (0) Card spot … the Cubs aim to snap a four-year drought in which the defending Leading Entering 8th: .............................. 76-7 Tied Entering 8th: ...................................... 8-7 Player Date Date Games World Series champion failed to qualify for postseason the following year. Trailing Entering 8th: ............................... 4-55 (Injury) On Elig. Missed © Furthermore, the Cleveland Indians have secured the A.L. Central crown … 2017 N/A would mark the first time since 2002 that both defending pennant winners won their respective divisions the following season. Leading Entering 9th: .............................. 75-2 N.L. CENTRAL STANDINGS Tied Entering 9th: ...................................... 8-2 MR. RELIABLE: John Lackey makes his 30th start of the season, reaching the mark Trailing Entering 9th: ............................... 5-65 1. Chicago Cubs 88-69 ---- for the ninth time in his career and the third time in the last four years … including 2. Milwaukee Brewers 83-74 -5.0 tonight, he is one of only 14 pitchers to reach 123 starts over the last four years, Scoring First: .......................................... 55-26 3. St. Louis Cardinals 82-75 -6.0 with Johnny Cueto and Bartolo Colon still having a chance to bring that total to 16. One-Run Games: ................................... 24-17 4. Pittsburgh Pirates 72-85 -16.0 © The Cubs have gone 18-11 (.621 winning percentage) in games started by Two-Run Games: ................................... 13-17 5. Cincinnati Reds 66-91 -22.0 Lackey this season, the best winning percentage of any starting pitcher on the Extra-Inning Games: .................................. 6-3 staff … the 18 wins tie Jon Lester (18-13) for most on the staff. Scoring Four or More: ........................... 76-18 CONSECUTIVE SAVE CHANCES CONVERTED, CUBS FRANCHISE HISTORY BRYZZTO?: Kris Bryant on Monday connected for his 29th homer of the season and Scoring Fewer Than Four: ....................... 12-51 the 94th blast of his young career, already tying him for 25th place on the all-time Out-Hitting Opponents: ......................... 66-14 1. Wade Davis 32 4/4-9/19/17 Hit Totals Equal: ...................................... 11-6 franchise home run list with Dave Kingman. 2. Ryan Dempster 26 8/2/05-5/1/06 Out-Hit by Opponents: .......................... 11-49 3. Hector Rondon 22 8/14/15-6/6/16 © With one more home run, Bryant would record his second 30-homer season by his Age-25 campaign … he would be only the second player in franchise history Hit at Least One HR: .............................. 73-36 Joe Borowski 22 8/5/03-5/23/04 Hit Two or More HR: ............................. 48-15 to achieve that accomplishment, joining Ron Santo (1964 and 1965) and RUNS SCORED SINCE ASB Anthony Rizzo (2014 and 2015). Playing Errorless Ball: ............................ 55-29 Committing at Least One Error: ............ 33-40 1. Chicago Cubs ................................. 401 JUST WIN, BABY: The Cubs have 288 regular season victories since the start of the 1. Minnesota Twins ............................. 395 2015 season, marking the winningest three-season span for the franchise in over 100 years … the franchise last won more games in a 3. Cleveland Indians ............................ 374 three-season span from 1909-1911 (300 victories). 4. New York Yankees ........................... 362 © The Cubs have secured their third-straight winning campaign dating to 2015 … this is just the third stretch of at least three-straight winning campaigns for Chicago in the last 78 seasons starting in 1940 … that includes a six-year run from 1967-72 and 2007-09. MOST HOME RUNS SINCE ASB, NL © Chicago is 114-56 (.671) in August, September and October regular season games since the start of 2015, the top mark in baseball. 1. Arizona Diamondbacks .................... 101 BREAKING UP: The Cubs have a 45-24 (.652) record since the All-Star Break, the best mark in the N.L. and trailing only the Indians (51- 2. Chicago Cubs ................................. 100 19, .729) … Chicago ranks second in the majors with a +114 run differential since the Break, trailing only Cleveland (+165). 3. New York Mets .................................. 91 Cincinnati Reds .................................. 91 ROAD WARRIORS: The Cubs have won 24 of their last 36 road games dating to July 2 after starting the campaign 18-25 in their first 43 road contests … overall, the team’s 42-37 road record is the best among N.L. Central division clubs (Milwaukee is second at 38-37). MOST HOME RUNS, N.L. STARTING IN 2013 A WALK IN THE PARK: Chicago’s 606 walks drawn are second-most in the majors (Dodgers, 636), as the Cubs have reached the 600- walk mark for just the eighth time in franchise history … last year’s club set a franchise mark with 656 free passes. 1. Giancarlo Stanton ............................ 172 2. Anthony Rizzo ................................ 150 KB AT THE DISH: Per Fangraphs, Kris Bryant leads the National League with a 6.8 WAR this season, trailing only Aaron Judge (7.7) and 3. Paul Goldschmidt ............................ 148 Jose Altuve (7.4) for tops in the majors … Bryant has driven in 14 runs in his last 13 games dating to September 12. 4. Nolan Arenado ................................ 147 © Bryant’s 110 runs scored rank fourth in the N.L. … he’s just the 12th Cub since 1913 to record multiple 100-run seasons, and the first since Sammy Sosa did so five times from 1998-2002. MOST WALKS BY BATTERS, 2017 © Bryant leads the team with 94 walks, third-most in the N.L. (teammate Anthony Rizzo is fifth with 91), while Bryants’s .411 on-base percentage is tied for third … Bryant is the first Cub ever to reach 25 home runs in each of his first three major league