What the Cubs need to achieve in last week of the regular season
CINCINNATI — After being swept by the Reds in a four-game series, the Cubs will enter the final week of the regular season with the stakes rising.
‘‘We’ve got something in front of us for this last week, and we’ve got to look at that as a good thing,’’ manager Craig Counsell said after the Cubs’ 1-0 loss Sunday. ‘‘We want to win some games this week and . . . earn a home game [next] Tuesday.’’
With six games left, the Cubs (88-68) are out of the National League Central race and focused on claiming the top wild-card spot and home-field advantage for the best-of-three series.
They wrapped up the weekend with a three-game lead on the Padres (85-71), who occupy the second wild-card spot.
Below them, the competition for the final postseason berth is a tight race among the Mets, Reds and Diamondbacks. The Mets and Reds have the same record (80-76), and the Diamondbacks (79-77) trail them by a game.
After being run over by the rising Reds, the Cubs next face the equally motivated Mets.
‘‘Playing teams now that are fighting for their lives, that’s what every game in the playoffs looks like,’’ said right-hander Jameson Taillon, who limited the Reds to one run in seven innings Sunday. ‘‘It’s probably good to see right now, play these close games and then understand that that’s where we have to be at mentally and intensity level-wise. Because playoffs only turn it up even more.’’
The Cubs’ magic number to clinch the top wild-card spot is four.
While the Cubs’ primary goal is to finish strong, both for the sake of seeding and carrying momentum into the postseason, they have a couple of other tasks to take care of in the next week — namely, surveying their injury situation and lining up their pitching.
The Cubs still need answers about several players’ recoveries as they make decisions about their postseason roster.
Right fielder Kyle Tucker (strained left calf), who has been working with an outside physical-therapy group in Tampa, Florida, since leaving Pittsburgh on Wednesday, is scheduled to fly back to Chicago on Monday, Counsell said.
‘‘I don’t expect him in the lineup Tuesday,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘But we’ll just have to assess progress at that point. . . . We have to figure out when and if he’s going to be available.’’
Reliever Daniel Palencia (strained right shoulder) also is expected to rejoin the Cubs for the homestand. He made one rehab appearance at Triple-A Iowa, and the Cubs will discuss Monday when to activate him from the 15-day injured list.
With the Triple-A season ending Sunday, catcher Miguel Amaya (sprained left ankle) will head to the Cubs’ complex in Arizona before joining the team next weekend in Chicago, Counsell said.
Amaya was scheduled to make a second rehab appearance behind the plate after serving as the designated hitter in his first two rehab games at Iowa.
The Cubs have yet to announce their Game 1 starter for the wild-card series and have to line up their rotation and space out their reliever usage in the next week in preparation for the postseason.
The best-of-three wild-card series is scheduled Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.
‘‘We’re at a point where we’ve created a game plan to be able to be flexible,’’ Counsell said Thursday.
To build in flexibility, the Cubs went with a six-man rotation for this turn through, slotting in right-hander Javier Assad on Saturday.
‘‘With so few games left in the season and the playoff situation changing pretty fast in terms of where we’re sitting, we’ll use that as a guide for what’s next,’’ Counsell said.
Against the Mets, the Cubs have rookie right-hander Cade Horton starting Tuesday, left-hander Matthew Boyd on Wednesday, and left-hander Shota Imanaga on Thursday.
Next up, bullpen usage.
‘‘The first goal is to win,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘We have some goals of spacing out usage of relievers; that would be a second goal here. That’s going to require good starts from our starters.’’