Cub Tracks inches closer to October

Welcome to today’s episode of Cub Tracks news and notes™, a greatest-hits collection of Chicago-style beat writers and bloggers, ground from #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball, overheated, steeped in writers’ tears, and then cold-brewed overnight for maximum flavor.

Starter Marcus Stroman had a bad pitch or two but looked decent and healthy. Javier Assad might be the staff’s MVP. He’s filled so many roles. The bats woke up a little bit. Still a lot of RISPY business. José Cuas looked good closing out the game.

The team has secured the meatloaf and will be playing for just desserts today. The Cubs will be at least .500 this year. October baseball is still in sight. Eight games left to go. The Cubs are ¹⁄₂ game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and 1 game ahead of the Miami Marlins in the NL Wild Card standings. The division is gone. The Braves, Brewers and Dodgers are in. Cincinnati and San Francisco are in the hunt, but just barely.

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“It’s definitely a good feeling to be back in routine and feel the energy of the crowd. I felt pretty good to be honest with you. It felt like I didn’t make some quality pitches in the second inning, but overall, for not being out there for a while, I felt really good.” — Marcus Stroman

• James Neveau (NBC Sports Chicago*): The Cubs’ magic number, and where they stand in playoff hunt. “... the Cubs’ magic number to clinch a playoff berth dropped to seven.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Cubs earn a comeback victory, cling to a playoff spot as 2 more heroes emerge.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Series win! Cubs rally to keep grasp on final Wild Card spot. “... righty Javier Assad’s four scoreless innings out of the bullpen allowed the lineup time to chip away at the deficit.” The AP* has more. So does Reuters*. Tony Andracki has some, too.
• Kevin Henry (Fansided*): Kris Bryant on David Ross as manager of Chicago Cubs: ‘Perfect scenario for him’. “He can relate with a lot of the guys. He related with a lot of us over there because we played with him.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs manager David Ross texts Pittsburgh Pirates counterpart Derek Shelton, trying to clarify postgame remarks about the team. “Hopefully they use my words and kick the crap out of the Reds,” Ross said with a smile.
• Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): With the playoffs on the line, Cubs give themselves some breathing room. “David Ross’ lineups have regularly puzzled fans all season, but he claims they’re not random or the result of a wonky magic eight ball.”
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times*): How Cubs’ Marcus Stroman ended up starting against the Rockies on Saturday. Stroman allowed three runs in three innings in his first start back from the IL. More from Fansided.
• James Fegan (Chicago Sun-Times*): Julian Merryweather cleans up his mess after Tommy Hottovy’s visit. “Until Merryweather was able to escape his bases-loaded jam, sealing a scoreless inning in an eventual 6-3 win, the litany of reliever injury updates Saturday were top of mind.”
• Aldo Soto (Sports Mockery*): Seiya Suzuki is playing like a bonafide star. “Since August 9, Suzuki has been the top hitter on the squad and is hasn’t been close.”

Food For Thought:

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