Cubs Clinch Playoff Berth as PCA Joins 40-40 Club — SkimNews
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- Pete Crow-Armstrong swiped his 40th base and joined the 40-40 club in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Marlins — only the seventh player in MLB history to reach 40 home runs and 40 steals in a season, hitting .280 with 45 homers, 107 RBI, 119 runs and 40 steals on the year
- The Chicago Cubs locked up one of the NL's three wild card berths and improved to 88-71, clinching their second straight playoff appearance — their first back-to-back postseasons since four straight from 2015-18 that included the 2016 World Series title
- Cubs manager Craig Counsell acknowledged the team's bumpy road, noting Chicago went 20-3 from April 14 to May 8 before stumbling through a 2-14 stretch
- The Cubs clinched on the same day the Chicago White Sox earned their postseason trip with a 9-1 win at Kansas City — the first time both Chicago teams clinched playoff berths on the same day, and just the fourth year both reached the postseason (2020, 2008, 1906)
- Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson summed up the moment: "This city deserves all the great things," as Wrigley Field fans chanted "MVP" for Crow-Armstrong after his milestone steal
Why it matters: Back-to-back postseason trips for the Cubs alone would mark their first consecutive appearances since the 2015-18 run that delivered Chicago's first championship since 1908 — but the simultaneous clinch with the White Sox makes this only the fourth year both Chicago clubs reached the playoffs, the first time both clinched on the same day, and a rare dual-city October that fans on both sides of town won't soon forget.
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