Chicago Cubs trying to stay focused on next game with trade deadline nearing and Brewers atop NL Central

When the Chicago Cubs are good, you can feel it, and this season, the energy is palpable because the Cubs have been one of baseball’s best teams. The atmosphere around Wrigley Field has reached playoff levels as the calendar gets close to August — a sign that good baseball is being played at the Friendly Confines.

It had been some time since Cubs fans enjoyed a team that was one of the best in baseball. The last time the Cubs were in the postseason in a full season was 2018, when they lost to the Brewers in Game 163 before also losing in the one-game wild card.

But this year, the Cubs, 60-42 entering play Friday, are in position to get back to the postseason and make a run once there. Not only that, but they are one of a few teams in baseball with a legitimate shot to win the World Series.

The first half was full of challenges for the Cubs, the biggest of which were the hits their rotation took with the loss of Justin Steele to a torn UCL and the absence of Shota Imanaga for more than a month due to a hamstring strain. Yet the Cubs have continued to play well and asserted their dominance in the National League; they’ve already finished their season series against many of the best teams in the NL, including the Dodgers, Mets, Padres and Phillies.

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In fact, because the Cubs had one of the most challenging schedules before the All-Star break, they have one of the easiest schedules in the sport in the second half.

“Our goal is to win as many games as possible,” Cubs president Jed Hoyer said this week. “I think that's the focus. We're not gonna actually play a lot of teams the rest of the way that are in that mix. So to me, how do we focus on the Cubs winning as many games as possible? Of course, you look at playoff odds, but ultimately, we know those things change quickly based on tonight's game and tomorrow's game.”

Speaking of things that change quickly, the one team that could ruin the Cubs’ summer fun and plans for an NL Central title is the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers, who entered the All-Star break on a seven-game winning streak and extended it to 11 before a loss Tuesday to the Mariners, have erased what was once a 6.5-game Cubs lead in the division. The Cubs have been ahead in the Central for most of the season, but with 60 games to play, Milwaukee is one game up.

“They're a really good team,” Hoyer said. “They’ve played really well, especially over the last 30 games or so. They’ve played excellent baseball and changed their calculus. But certainly, I don't expect that to change.

"I expect us to play well. I expect them to play well.”

Since May 1, the Cubs are 42-29. The Brewers are 45-26 over the same span. It previously looked like the Cubs could pull away from the division early, but at this point, Milwaukee — which has the second-best run differential in the NL, behind only Chicago — doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.