The Rundown: Autumn Falls on 2026 Season, NL Wild Card Race Too Tight to Call, PCA Polling as Unanimous MVP Choice

“With a little push we could set it off, we could send it rocketing skyward.” – With a Little Luck by Paul McCartney & Wings

It’s the first day of fall. Celebrate appropriately, and trust me when I tell you that pumpkin spice is more overrated than Black Friday shopping. Baseball starts its accelerated marketing push today, taking us from the final week of the regular season right into this year’s Christmas shopping extravaganza. I’m putting nothing but gas station gift cards on my list this year. Well, that and a World Series title for our beloved Cubs in case Santa is feeling like spreading some early holiday cheer. I’ve been good all year. Swear.

It’s hard to believe that a 162-game schedule comes down to a handful of games, but here we are. One game separates the Cubs, Padres, and Phillies with six to play, and Chicago holds the tiebreaker over both. It feels particularly fall-like in my neck of the woods, as it should: Each game from here on out will feel almost like a playoff game.

Make no mistake, these are must-win games for the North Siders. San Diego is charging hard with 13 wins in its last 14 games, and it’s a minor miracle that the Cubs still hold the slimmest of leads. Alex Bregman is out for the remainder of the season, adding more stress to the home stretch, and he’ll likely miss some playoff games. Bregman has been one of Chicago’s hottest hitters, and he ranks seventh in fWAR thanks to a strong second half. He’s also one of the game’s best defensive third basemen. Pedro Ramírez and Matt Shaw will be tasked with taking his place, though it’s a tall order to ask either to replace Bregman’s production and leadership.

Somebody’s got to step up to protect Pete Crow-Armstrong, and if you’re looking for an unlikely hero, look no further than Michael Conforto, who might be the most underrated Cub of all-time. It’s just too bad he can’t play third base.

Michael Conforto is not getting enough love for his contributions to the 2026 Cubs.

1. 15 HR tied for his most in a year since 2019.
2. .821 OPS is 3rd best on team (min 250 PA)
3. Currently hitting .345 with 1.103 OPS in last 22 games.

Pretty good for a NRI invite to Spring.

— Alex Cohen (@voiceofcohen2) September 21, 2026

The real hero is going to be the team that slows down the Padres. If San Diego continues to dominate its opponents, the Cubs could find themselves in Atlanta playing the Braves next week. That’s something Brewers fans are rooting for up here. They’d love to potentially avoid the Dodgers until the NLCS. I’d rather the Cubs be waiting for them if you smell what I’m cooking.

Regardless, nobody can say the Cubs did not earn a trip to this year’s postseason tournament. They’ve taken the word resiliency to an entirely new level, and it’s hard not to imagine where they’d be with fewer injuries and a little more luck. I still think the Cubs are going to take the top Wild Card seed, but the deck is certainly stacked against them. Then again, perhaps Chicago will thrive as the truest of playoff underdogs this week and beyond.

Cubs News & Notes

• The Cubs announced ticket sales for the Wild Card series in case they clinch home field advantage.
• PCA is a unanimous choice in the season’s final poll of MVP candidates.
• Assistant hitting coach John Mallee has previously worked with Miguel Cabrera, Jose Altuve, Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Crow-Armstrong is his current star pupil, and the center fielder refers to Mallee as his “baseball dad.”
• No one loves hitting more at Wrigley Field than Atlanta second baseman Ozzie Albies. He’s batting .376 with eight homers and 18 RBI at The Friendly Confines, the second-highest batting average among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances in the park’s history. Only Hall of Famer Eddie Murray (.395) had a higher batting average at Wrigley.

Ball Four

What is your preferred scenario for the Cubs-Red Sox series, where potential severe weather is expected to play a big factor? Sorry, but moving the series to Wrigley Field is not an option.

1. Play the games at a neutral site, like Pittsburgh, for example.
2. Play a twin bill on Friday and hope the third game won’t matter.
3. Play a single game Friday and a doubleheader on Monday, with the playoffs starting Tuesday.

Central Intelligence

• Milwaukee (98-58): The Brewers can clinch a first-round bye with a win against the Phillies tonight or a Reds victory over the Braves.
• Chicago (87-69): The addition of Bregman was the best offseason acquisition in baseball according to The Sporting News.
• Pittsburgh (79-77): The Pirates designated relief pitcher Camilo Doval for assignment and reinstated Kirby Yates from the 15-day injured list. Doval was acquired from the Yankees at the deadline.
• St. Louis (76-80): The Cardinals hope to acquire a third baseman, a top-of-rotation starter, and bullpen help this offseason.
• Cincinnati (72-84): Rookie Sal Stewart is hoping to finish the season as the NL leader in RBI, the first Reds player to accomplish that feat since Dave Parker in 1985. No National League rookie has ever led the league in that statistic since it was first recognized in 1920. Albert Pujols drove in 130 RBI as a rookie in 2001, but Sammy Sosa plated 160 runners that season.

Something Wild

• San Diego (87-69): A heated clubhouse meeting in July and the nine games that followed saved the Padres’ season.
• Philadelphia (86-70): The Phillies would get the second Wild Card seed if they finished the season in a three-way tie with the Cubs and Padres.
• Arizona (82-74): Manager Torey Lovullo conceded he may not be retained if the Diamondbacks miss the playoffs. Arizona sits four games behind Philadelphia for the final postseason berth.

How About That!

Major League Baseball says it has no plans to remove Mark Walter as the Dodgers’ owner after being under federal fraud investigation by the SEC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Walter is also subject to a class-action lawsuit alleging multiple insurance companies he owns hid an ongoing federal investigation from its customers.

Freddy Peralta is building his free-agent value back up since joining the Rays. He is 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his last four starts after going 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts with the Mets.

Pete Alonso is poised to become the first player in history to lead the National League in RBI one year and the American League in another.

Extra innings

I’d have no problem with David Peterson starting Game 1 of a playoff series. Let Clay Holmes pitch Game 2, and then Matthew Boyd is your Game 3 starter, or he starts Game 1 of the NLDS.

This is a David Peterson appreciation post. pic.twitter.com/HGph1x1F3g

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 20, 2026

They Said It

• “Most guys will make an out and go, ‘I struck out,’ or, ‘I swung at a bad pitch.’ But what led into that? It’s a deeper thing for [Crow-Armstrong] to get a good approach and a plan, whether good or bad, rehearsing what just happened. The more we can put pitchers in buckets, like certain left-handed pitchers with sinkers and sweepers, then we have a general plan of how we want to approach this type of guy with this type of stuff. He likes to be coached, he likes to be disciplined, he wants to be held accountable. And accepting failure is not an option. We have to somehow accept it somewhat but never be content.” – Mallee

Tuesday Walk-Up Song

The Wild Card turkey shoot begins today. Six nerve-racking games in six days. Have mercy.