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The monitoring of the scoreboard reached a high intensity for the Cubs and their fans Tuesday night.
A 55-minute rain had ended and the Cubs and Pirates had started playing Wrigley Field. The Brewers had already taken the lead in St. Louis.
Rookie Pablo Reyes 'third rookie at home, a three-point shot from Cubs' left defender Mike Montgomery, landed in the left-wing seats in the third inning.
And at the end of a long, quiet evening at Wrigley, the Cubs and their anemic team had lost 6-0; the brewers had beaten the Cardinals 12-4; and the most valuable player of 2016, Kris Bryant, was on the bench with his uncertain status for the rest of the week after being hit on the left wrist by a throw.
Jorge De La Rosa, having traveled the sixth in a 6-0 defeat against the Pirates Tuesday night.
X-rays were negative. Manager Joe Maddon, who said the wrist had grown when Bryant won in the fifth, does not intend to play Bryant on Wednesday.
If there were any nails among Cubs' followers, they were also chewed and as dangerous as this fragile Central National League team against the Brewers who suddenly found themselves at half a match – the most tight since the Cubs The brewers ended July 31 tied for the first.
The Cubs are five years old to play; the brewers, four.
The Cubs have scored one point in their last 24 innings. And the levers Maddon pulls these days look more like slot machine arms.
After three years spent in the last week of the season on cruise control to the playoffs, this is the way the Cubs can do it until the final series.
By the way, this series is against the Cardinals – who lost half a game behind Colorado for last place in the wild card with Tuesday's loss to the Brewers.
"We have a resilient group of guys and we know where we are," said Montgomery (5-6). "It's a little motivation. We will bring it these last five games. We will not be discouraged.
Buckle for the finish.
This one-game lead in the losing column has never been more important to the Cubs – who might not have done better to finish in a realistic tie at the top of the division than to finish second.
If it ends this way on Sunday, the Cubs and Brewers would be the first test of the worst-case scenario of the new wild-card system at a game, further compounded by the fact that they have the best records in the league.
"Sensational, I did not even think about it," Maddon said, "I hope we avoid that."
Before the introduction of the wild-card format to a game in 2012, a division tie was resolved using the tie-breaker criteria to determine which team would open the series as a division champion and open the best of five as a division champion. than joker (see: Oakland and Seattle in 2000).
But now he must be played in a tie-break of a match.
In this case, it would mean the Brewers and Wrigley Field Cubs on Monday to determine the best seed of the National League – and a first home playoff match in the NLDS.
And then: Monday's loser will play the next day at his home, in the card game, against the Rockies, the Cardinals or maybe the Dodgers.
Two days after the card game, this winner would open the NLDS on the road, against the lost team on Monday.
"You're trying not to be put in that position," said Maddon. "But if that's the rule, you respect it, and it's even more difficult.
"I've been involved in crazy scenarios," added Maddon, whose Rays had to win three consecutive games to win to qualify for the ALDS. "I did not really pay attention to it, but if that's the way it is, then that's what you need to do."
By the way, after defeating the Brewers in eight of their first nine games, the Cubs lost seven of their 10 teams to the upgraded team, which improved to 15-7 in September.
"Just win the game tonight, baby," said Maddon. "Then I'll be really happy with that and we'll move on."
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