The Cubs will arrive in Boston with more than a final road series on the line. Chicago, San Diego and Philadelphia were separated by one game entering Tuesday in the National League Wild Card chase, and the weather forecast at Fenway Park has added another variable to an already tight final week.
Rain is projected to be most troublesome on Saturday and Sunday, raising the prospect that the Cubs and Red Sox may have to alter their plans for the season’s closing weekend. Chicago still has three games at Wrigley Field against Miami before heading east, while Boston enters the final stretch holding the American League’s second Wild Card position. The Red Sox trailed the Yankees by 5 1/2 games entering Tuesday but owned a four-game cushion over the third Wild Card spot, held at that point by the White Sox.
Neither club has completely settled its October assignment. Boston appears likely to land the No. 5 seed, though it has not been clinched. The Cubs, meanwhile, have a stronger hand than most in a crowded National League race because of the work they did months ago.
Chicago went 6-1 against Philadelphia, with all seven meetings coming in April, and took five of six from San Diego. Those results give the Cubs the head-to-head tiebreaker against both clubs, as well as the three-team tiebreaker if Chicago, the Padres and Phillies finish level. Philadelphia owns the tiebreaker over San Diego.
Friday may become the key day at Fenway
Major League Baseball could explore a Friday doubleheader if the forecast holds, since Friday currently offers the cleanest weather window of the weekend. The preference would be to complete all 162 games as scheduled, particularly when the outcome can affect postseason seeding.
There is precedent for clubs and the league moving early when weather threatens meaningful September games. In 2017, the Rays and Yankees shifted a series originally scheduled for Tropicana Field to Citi Field before Hurricane Irma arrived. This weekend’s forecast does not approach that level of danger, but rainouts could still complicate the schedule.
If the Cubs and Red Sox cannot finish their series by Sunday, any games that remain necessary to decide playoff placement would be made up Monday, the day before the Wild Card Series begins. That solution would come with a cost: each club would lose its lone scheduled off-day before its postseason opener.
That kind of Monday baseball is not merely theoretical. Two years ago, the Mets and Braves played a doubleheader after the scheduled close of the regular season when Hurricane Helene had wiped out two earlier games. The clubs split the twin bill, sending both into the postseason and leaving the D-backs eliminated from home.
For Chicago, the stakes go beyond simply getting into the bracket. The Padres are finishing with a road series against the Dodgers before returning home to face Arizona. Philadelphia closes with six home games, against Milwaukee and Tampa Bay. Every result can shape who travels, who hosts and who draws the more favorable road through October.
The Cubs know Fenway will not be a quiet final stop. A year ago, they hosted San Diego at Wrigley Field in the Wild Card round, won the series in three games and moved on to the National League Division Series. This time, their path may depend not only on their own finishing kick, but also on whether the Boston skies allow the final weekend to play out on time.
