I liked it better the last time Caleb Williams and Alex Bregman simultaneously made headlines …
On the bright side of the ledger, the Cubs’ win yesterday shrank their playoff magic number to just one. Thanks to the contemporaneous disappointment of seeing the divisional race turn into a blowout at the same time the Cubs’ big WC1 lead turned into nothing, we haven’t really done the Magic Number Tracking thing this year. I haven’t, anyway. I knew a playoff clinch was coming, but it was hard to get jazzed about that; clinch WC1, and I’ll have a little more excitement. In any case, I am actually happy the Diamondbacks won last night, which prevented the back-door clinch before an off-day (and right on the heels of Alex Bregman’s injury). That would not have been at all fun, at least not compared to the Cubs perhaps winning tomorrow night at Wrigley Field to clinch. I think I could get excited about it when you put it that way! (via MLB) The Padres will not lose. They are 14-2 in their last 16 games, so it feels like a minor miracle that the Cubs are still even tied with them atop the Wild Card standings (and, again, the Cubs have the tiebreaker). Maybe the Cubs will get an assist from the Dodgers this week, who are trying to lock down the first round bye, and now host the Padres for three. That could have the bonus effect of keeping the Diamondbacks alive long enough for their weekend series against the Padres to matter to them. Something to keep an eye on this week? The Northeastern US weather forecast:I can't stress enough how messy the Cubs and Red Sox situation is about to get if anything close to a storm like this comes to fruition next weekend (a high likelihood given the blocking pattern in eastern Canada). The Red Sox are virtually locked into the second AL Wild Card… pic.twitter.com/E4jKktW63x
— Matthew Gross (@MattGross87) September 21, 2026 Hard to know exactly what MLB would do if those games in Boston become unplayable. The Wild Card round begins on Tuesday, so there isn’t enough time to make up three games if the entire weekend gets washed out (heck, there’s barely time to do it in a fair way if even one of the weekend games gets rained out). The games are plausibly not going to matter to the Red Sox for postseason positioning, but very much could matter for the Cubs. So do they go to a neutral park? Shift it to Chicago? Stay and pray? Hopefully those conversations are already being had. We discussed Daniel Palencia’s big appearance this weekend, where he finally really looked like Daniel Palencia. Hopefully he’s really locking in those mechanics at the perfect time. But more than just the mechanics, there’s the mental side of the game, especially for a late-inning reliever. And, to that end, it looks like Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy may have done Palencia a great service:After pitching the 6th cleanly and getting the first 2 out in the 7th, Palencia looked like he was going to get taken out by Craig Counsell with a lefty up.…then, I think, Tommy Hottovy told Counsell "no." pic.twitter.com/9za8GKNYYE
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) September 20, 2026So how did Palencia respond to facing the last batter in the 7th? A strikeout.That got Craig pumped, and it made Tommy go "F*** yeah."Looked like an interesting moment between them. I'm speculating of course, but would be interesting to ask them what their process was here. pic.twitter.com/NhoYqlA0nq
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) September 20, 2026 There’s a risk there in letting Palencia face one batter too many, and seeing the performance fall off. Maybe he starts to question himself. Maybe he gets too fine with the mechanics the next time out. Maybe he really beats himself up for being so close to getting “it” back and then losing it. That’s the debate and the dance the coaches are probably doing in a moment like that – it goes beyond just trying to get the perfect match-up for that one out. The Cubs gave Palencia that opportunity – showed him that extra faith – and he nailed it. That’s GOTTA pay some dividends in the days ahead, as one of the most important things you need for a late-inning reliever is the belief that he can absolutely do it no matter what, and no matter what the last batter did. ‘‘I feel great; I’ve been feeling a lot of confidence,’’ Palencia said this weekend, per the Sun-Times. ‘‘I wasn’t trying to throw hard, and when I saw the [velocity], I was like, ‘OK, I’m feeling good.’ ’’ Willson Contreras leading the Red Sox clubhouse:The full speech from Willson Contreras to the team. Electric stuff. Clearly the guy who leads this entire group.Of course he had to throw a trash barrel lol. pic.twitter.com/pF1S0TpPyz
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) September 20, 2026 Doing it in the playoffs, man. The whole thing was idiotic and awful, but that’s next level:Federal prosecutors have identified 18 alleged rigged pitches, including one from the 2024 ALDS, for their case against Emmanuel Clase.(?: Avondice/Reddit) pic.twitter.com/eVAByUIVxd
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 19, 2026 Interesting that some of those pitches were actually pretty good; I wonder if either not all of the (alleged) bets were for balls, or if sometimes the idea was to throw a strike just so that the bets wouldn’t be as obvious? I suppose there are also props for velocity or pitch type, though. Anyway, just a nasty business, and a potential Hall of Fame career (allegedly) flushed. Pretty darn impressive:Most starts allowing no more than one earned run, live-ball era (1920, excluding openers):1963 Sandy Koufax: 252026 Cam Schlittler: 241968 Bob Gibson: 241966 Sandy Koufax: 24
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 20, 2026 If you were curious about 2015 Jake Arrieta (I was), he reached 21. BUT 12 of them were 0 ER. Schlittler is at 10. MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN NewsletterHence then, the article about one is the magic number watch the weather the palencia boost and other cubs bullets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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