The Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds have one game left before they must bow to the All-Star break. The series is tied with one win apiece, and both teams wish to finish the game strong. With the front half of the season firmly in the rear view mirror, it's important for the Cubs to finish out their divisional series with good momentum.
This break can come as a jolt for many fans. The MLB season is always such a marathon, it becomes something constantly present. For the odd fan out, finding out your team isn't playing on a random Wednesday when you were excited for the game can be disappointing. But it's nothing compared to the feeling that your team, your constant companion, will be without you for almost a week.
The Cubs can't afford to lose ground in the division
The Cubs have been in a perpetual state of catch-up for months. May brought challenges that have proven to be something exceedingly difficult to overcome. It doesn't help that the Cubs have also been one of the most injured teams in baseball. The Pitching staff seemingly only has three and a half guys that aren't injured at any given moment, and they're swapping on the injured list by the day.
The Cubs have been unable to gain meaningful ground against Milwaukee in the last few weeks of the first half, and as a result, they remain 6 games behind. That may seem like it's a tough wall to overcome, but six games with about eighty games of baseball left is actually a good chunk of time to make it up.
That being said, if the Cubs wish to have a hope at re-taking the NL Central, they need to get their ducks in a row and take this series against the Reds. Cincinnati currently sits at 15.5 games out of first place, and it should be a relatively easy series win for the Cubs.
The Cubs have plenty of baseball left to make up ground in the NL Central, but that climb has to start somewhere. Heading into the All-Star break with a series win over Cincinnati would be a strong first step.
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