The Chicago Cubs are officially heading back to the postseason. With a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday, the Cubs clinched a playoff spot for the second straight season.
The Cubs secured their postseason berth just minutes after their cross-town rivals, the Chicago White Sox, who are back in the playoffs after a five-year break and three 100-loss seasons.
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It’s just the fourth time in MLB history that both the Cubs and the White Sox have made the playoffs, with the pair both earning postseason berths in 1906, 2008, 2020 and now 2026, via MLB’s Sarah Langs. Thursday marks the first time that both Chicago teams clinched on the same day.
Although Miami got on the board first with an RBI single in the third, Seiya Suzuki delivered with a solo homer in the fifth inning. An RBI single from Nico Hoerner in the sixth ended up being enough for the Cubs to pull off the win, with reliever Ryan Zeferjahn closing out the game with a hitless ninth.
During the game, star outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong continued his MVP campaign by stealing his 40th base of the season. That made him the seventh player in MLB history to achieve a 40/40 season.
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After the game, Crow-Armstrong spoke about the Cubs rising above adversity to return to the playoffs.
“We’re built for the weird s***,” Crow-Armstrong said, via Cubs reporter Tony Andracki.
The Cubs’ victory secures them a wild-card berth. The San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies are also in line for wild-card berths, but the teams’ close records mean they will likely be jockeying for the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 seeds through the final weekend of the season.
The Milwaukee Brewers clinched the National League Central earlier this month, leaving the Cubs to finish second in the division.
