Odd that both the C-Cubs & I-Cubs are idle today.

The locals have punched their playoff ticket and begin a best-of-five series in Round Rock tomorrow night, albeit with a carcass of a roster now that fire marshals have revised MLB dugout capacities upward. Game three and any others required are slated for Des Moines over the weekend.

CHC (74-63): LHP Jon Lester (11-9, 4.36 ERA)
SEA (48-81): RHP Félix Hernández (1-4, 6.02 ERA)
First pitch 7:05pmCDT

Lester gave his team six innings of one-run baseball against the Mets in his final August start. Today, he and his supporting cast will go for a two-game sweep against the visiting Mariners. Kyle Seager with two homeruns off of the lefty, and Dee Gordon is 2-8. Most other Mariners have only a few at bats against the veteran.

CHC (73-63): RHP Kyle Hendricks (9-9, 3.47 ERA)
SEA (58-80): LHP Justus Sheffield (0-1, 7.94 ERA)
First pitch 1:20pmCDT

Kyle Hendricks toes the rubber and may have to tow the lagging Cubs offense toward a home victory in the series opener. He'll need to be sharper than his last start, in which he couldn't get out of the fifth and allowed six earned runs on eight hits including two homeruns. Current Mariners are 9-50 off of him with one extra base hit.

The Cubs greet the Brewers to Wrigley for a three game set. This series plus the 4-game set next weekend looked at one time like they would be a fight for the division lead, but with the Cubs on the heels of the first-place Cardinals they'll be looking to toss the Brewers clear out of the ring, narrowing the Royal Rumble that was the tight NL Central to a 1-on-1 grapple. The Brewers meanwhile will cling tightly to both their place in the division and their dwindling Wild Card aspirations. Read below to see which competitors will be starting in the series.

CHC (71-61): LHP Jon Lester (10-9, 4.49 ERA)
NYM (67-66): RHP Jacob deGrom (8-7, 2.56 ERA)
First pitch 6:10pmCDT

That 10-7 win was one of the tensest games I can remember that included an early 10-1 lead. With that win in hand, the Cubs clinched the series and go today for a sweep of the Wild Card hopefuls in Flushing. It'll also be another shot for the Cubs to creep beyond 10 games over .500. Jon Lester sets himself to the task. Lester has gone through a rough August, squishing two decent starts between a trio of flops. Even the good starts were shaky, as his command left him to the tune of eight walks in those eleven innings. Rajai Davis has a .907 OPS against him in 52 at bats and should be part of the usual strategy to take advantage of Lester on the basepaths. Amed Rosario is 5-9 off the lefty.

CHC (70-61): RHP Kyle Hendricks (9-9, 3.20 ERA)
NYM (67-64): RHP Noah Syndergaard (9-6, 3.71 ERA)
First pitch 6:10pmCDT

The Cubs started the road series with a win over Marcus Stroman and continue with another tough match-up today. Hendricks takes the mound, fresh off a very good performance against the Giants that yielded him a win. He pitched seven scoreless, collecting seven strikeouts and allowing three hits along the way. The Mets most dangerous hitters have seen little of Mr. Tenure Track, but Todd Frazier is 3-12 with two doubles and two walks. The bullpen should be extremely well rested following an off day and an 8-inning start from Yu.

CHC (69-61): RHP Yu Darvish (4-6, 4.43 ERA)
NYM (67-63): RHP Marcus Stroman (7-11, 3.18 ERA)
First pitch 6:10pmCDT

The Cubs reversed course in their last series, following a sweep of the Giants with a sweep at the hands of the Nats. The Cards defeated the Brewers on the Cubs' day off and now lead the North Siders by 3 full games. The Cubs will look to pull another about face and gather some rare road wins against the Mets, who trail the Cubs in the race for the second wild card spot by only two games.