Cubs Smash Records: August Home Run Barrage and MVP Buzz

Now, there is one National League story that we have to talk about, and that was what the Cubs did in the month of August and what they did last night. The Cubs hit nine home runs last night. Nine. I bet the Brewers' money line. Good bet, Matt. Nine home runs. That barrage of nine home runs, three by Alex Bregman, gave the Cubs a franchise record for a calendar month of 62 home runs in the month of August. That is second only to the New York Yankees, who hit, in 2019, 74 home runs in the month of August. Pete Crow Armstrong and Alex Bregman just wrapped up a ridiculous month. They combined for 25 or more home runs, 25 or more walks, 50 or more RBIs, and they scored 50 or more runs. In one calendar month, that had not happened since 1961, when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle did it the year that Roger Maris hit 60 home runs. That's insane. That is an absolutely insane month of August for Pete Crow Armstrong. And a lot of it... Look, Bregman got hot, but Pete Crow Armstrong did a lot of that with the RBIs and the walks and the runs scored. A lot of that was Pete Crow Armstrong, who now is the odds-on favorite to win the National League MVP because of the month that he just had. The Cubs are peaking, and you got to worry, are they peaking too early? Big game today against the Brewers. They beat the Brewers finally. That was their first win at Wrigley Field against Milwaukee this season. That was a big win yesterday. What do the Brewers look like today? Do they bounce back? You got to kind of like the Brewers today against the Cubs to bounce back after that shellacking they took last night. But this is an offense for Chicago right now that is never out of a game. And I think for a lot of Cub fans, they're feeling pretty good about just get to the postseason and then let's see what happens. The Cubs start the day seven games back of the Brewers, so they're not going to catch Milwaukee. But if they see them in the playoffs, they want to be able to feel confident that, hey, we can beat these guys. I mean, the Cubs have a five-game lead on the Phillies. Or sorry, they have five games on the Padres, rather. They're tied with the Phillies at 78 and 60 for the National League wildcard spot. The Padres, Oprah, operate that third spot. They aren't going to catch the Phillies or the Cubs. Those two teams will see who winds up has home field advantage when the Cubs and Phillies play in that wildcard series. But the Padres are only a half a game up on the Arizona Diamondbacks. One game in the loss column, 73 and 65 San Diego, 73 and 66 Arizona. And then the Marlins come in at 69 and 69. Really that's the only race that's like, I guess the Cubs in the, in the Phillies is interesting because who gets to host, so there's a home field advantage there, but that's the only real difference, you know, and then the Padres and the Diamondbacks. And I guess you include the Marlins. The National League wildcard is really the only one that has a very interesting race. Everything else in baseball right now is sort of decided and we're kind of waiting to see how we get to the postseason and who is going to be playing the best.