The Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres have five days left to determine which will finish atop the Wild Card standings in the National League. Chicago has the upper hand in the event the three teams remain tied at season's end, as it dominated its 2026 series against the other two clubs. Get up to $1,500 in bonus bets if your first bet loses at BetMGM with promo code CBSSPORTS when wagering on Wednesday's biggest games: The Cubs (87-70) attempt to maintain at least a share of the top Wild Card spot when they host the Miami Marlins (77-80) at 7:40 p.m.
ET on Wednesday for the middle contest of their three-game series at Wrigley Field. Chicago, which lost the opener 8-2 in 12 innings, can clinch a wild-card berth with either a victory or a loss by the Arizona Diamondbacks in their game against the San Francisco Giants. Arizona is four games back in the wild-card race with just five remaining.
After falling behind 2-0 in the sixth inning, the Cubs scored twice in the bottom half to forge a tie but fell apart in the 12th as Miami rallied for six runs to prevent them from clinching a postseason berth. Chicago, which ended its four-year playoff drought last season and has a magic number of 1 for a second straight appearance, would secure the first NL Wild Card spot should it finish the campaign with the same record as Philadelphia and/or San Diego as it went 6-1 against the Phillies and 5-1 versus the Padres. San Diego (87-70) also hopes to, at worst, remain tied for the No. 1 Wild Card spot when it continues its three-game set against the two-time reigning world champion Los Angeles Dodgers (97-60) at 10:10 p.m.
The Padres had their five-game winning streak halted with Tuesday's series-opening 7-0 loss to Los Angeles, which is one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers (98-59) and one ahead of the American League East champion Tampa Bay Rays (96-61) for the best record in the major leagues and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs -- including the World Series. The Padres can punch their ticket to the postseason Wednesday with a victory over the Dodgers and a Diamondbacks loss to the Giants. However, San Diego loses tiebreakers against Chicago and Philadelphia as it dropped its season series with both clubs.
The Phillies would secure their fifth consecutive playoff berth win a win over the Brewers and a loss by either Arizona or San Diego. Bet on Wednesday's MLB games with the FanDuel promo code and get up to $250 in bonus bets when you bet $5 for seven days: MLB's Wednesday evening schedule includes 11 other games, one of which has the Rays visiting Yankee Stadium at 7:05 p.m. ET for the third contest of their four-game set against the New York Yankees (90-67).
New York won the opener of Tuesday's doubleheader 2-0 behind an eight-inning masterpiece by Carlos Rodon, but Tampa Bay took the nightcap 6-1 to clinch the AL East title for the first time since 2021. The setback ended the Yankees' chances for the division crown but secured the top Wild Card spot for them. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds (73-84) try to post back-to-back wins for the first time in more than two weeks when they visit the NL East champion Atlanta Braves (92-65) at 7:15 p.m.
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