Cubs break losing streak, close in on top wild-card spot

Craig Counsell sat in the dugout before Wednesday's game and expressed confidence in the face of a five-game losing streak.

“We're in good shape,” he said. “You're going to go through stretches like this. We're going to play in the playoffs. That's a great thing. Look around the league, we're in a good spot.”

They were in an even better spot a few hours later. The Cubs finally snapped the losing streak with a 10-3 victory over the New York Mets at Wrigley Field as Matt Shaw and Michael Busch hit home runs.

Coupled with San Diego's 3-1 loss to Milwaukee, the Cubs magic number for clinching home field in the wild-card round dropped to 2. That means the Cubs could clinch the top wild-card slot as soon as Friday against St. Louis.

The Cubs will most likely face the Padres in the wild-card round, beginning next Tuesday. There is a chance San Diego could catch the Dodgers for the NL West title, which would pit the Cubs and Dodgers in the opening round.

“You're going to get a unanimous vote, you'd rather play at home,” Counsell said. “It's a goal of ours for sure, to be at home. Until you win the last game of the World Series, there is another goal in front of you. And that's the next goal in front of us.”

The Cubs got a nice outing from starting pitcher Matthew Boyd, who cooled off in the past two months after a great start to the season. Boyd went 5⅓ innings, allowing 2 runs on just 2 hits.

Mets rookie pitcher Jonah Tong was chased in the third inning when the Cubs scored 5 runs, featuring RBI doubles by Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki.

This game featured slug and speed. Pete Crow-Armstrong got the crowd fired up when he scored from second base on a wild pitch in the fifth inning. PCA jogged into third, noticed pitcher Clay Holmes wasn't covering the plate and kept going.

“That's a fun play,” Counsell said. “Those are the plays that I think make speed so much fun to watch on a baseball field. You run that well, you catch a defender not at full attention and you get another run.”

Oddly enough, one topic before the game was Counsell hoping Kyle Tucker doesn't go all out on the bases. The goal is for Tucker, who is recovering from a calf strain, to return Friday as a designated hitter.

Tucker has been running, but Counsell saw no reason for the outfielder to try to reach full speed this weekend while trying to get past the injury.

“I don't think the symptoms are going to be gone, but I think he's in a place where he agrees that we've got to go,” Counsell said. “We've got to see what it feels like to play. I will encourage him to not go all out when you don't have to, and to keep it at 80 to 90%.”

What Counsell means is there's no reason to try to beat out routine groundballs, especially if the Cubs wrap up home field for the wild card. Neither side wants a relapse before the playoffs begin.

Reliever Daniel Palencia was activated from the injured list and made his return from a right shoulder strain. He took over for Boyd in the sixth inning and retired both batters he faced, one on a strikeout.

Pitcher Cade Horton, after leaving Tuesday's game early with back tightness, went for an MRI exam Wednesday, mostly as a precaution.