Cubs win final home game, eye October return to Wrigley

CHICAGO -- It hit Patrick Wisdom as he was trotting around the bases on Sunday afternoon. As he heard the Wrigley Field crowd roar and saw his teammates in the third-base dugout celebrating, the Cubs' slugger felt the importance of the homer he just sent deep into the left-field bleachers.

“That was a big one,” Wisdom said. “Hearing Wrigley erupt and seeing the dugout when you're rounding second explode is really cool. It's a hard feeling to replicate.”

The Cubs are hoping to replicate such moments back home in October.

Wisdom’s go-ahead two-run blast in the sixth inning propelled Chicago to a 4-3 victory over Colorado, putting the final touch on a three-game sweep and keeping the North Siders in the third National League Wild Card spot. If the Cubs play at the Friendly Confines again in 2023, it will likely be in an NL Division Series.

• Games remaining (6): at ATL (3), at MIL (3)
• Standings update: The Cubs (82-74) sit six games behind the first-place Brewers (88-68) in the NL Central. In the NL Wild Card race, Chicago owns the third and final spot, a half-game behind Arizona (82-73). The Marlins (81-75) are one game behind the Cubs. The Phillies (87-69) are the top Wild Card seed, with a five-game lead over the Cubs. Philadelphia, Arizona and Miami all own tiebreakers over Chicago.

Following the final out of the Cubs’ last regular-season home game, manager David Ross and his players and staff all stepped onto the field to wave to the fans. It was a collective show of appreciation, one that the ballclub will now hope was more of a “see you later,” rather than a “see you next year.”

“That’s what it’s all about, right?” Ross said. “It’s always nice to hear ‘Go Cubs, Go’ in the background when you're thanking them and they're singing and cheering. You look up, and it’s almost 40,000 people in the stands. And you get to try to give back some of the love.”

The next six games through Atlanta and Milwaukee will determine Chicago’s October fate, and the team will need more collective efforts like the one turned in to close out a 45-36 ledger in front of the home fans.

There was 24-year-old old rookie starter Jordan Wicks -- the first-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft -- logging a quality start for the Cubs. There was 36-year-old catcher Yan Gomes -- one of the veteran voices and leaders behind the scenes -- guiding the lefty through the outing, throwing out a key baserunner in the eighth and driving in a pair of runs in the win.

“He's kind of that rock, that foundation that we all really need,” said Wicks, who held the Rockies to three runs over six innings. “And he comes up with a lot of big hits in a lot of big moments.”

In the momentum-swinging sixth, two of the Cubs’ big free-agent signings from the past two offseasons -- Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson -- came through with back-to-back hits to get things rolling. Gomes then delivered a sacrifice fly, setting the stage for Wisdom.

Rockies lefty Ty Blach fired a 2-0 cutter that abandoned the outside corner, veered into the zone and found Wisdom’s barrel. And Wisdom, who has learned to embrace his part-time role this season, left no doubt where the ball would wind up. His 22nd homer of the year rocketed off his bat at 111.7 mph, per Statcast, and the in-house eruption shook the old ballpark.

“There’s real power in there,” Ross said. “That was a big swing.”

It served as the exclamation point on a win paved by a mix of players. That included relievers Daniel Palencia, Jose Cuas and Julian Merryweather, who are doing what they can to step up for a bullpen beset with injuries and workload issues.

“Probably some of the favorite parts of this year is watching us grow as a team,” Ross said. “And I think this winning environment, being in this playoff push here down the stretch, it's just going to really carry over, hopefully, and create this long-term expectation here. And not just from the guys who are already in that locker room on contracts but also the young men coming.”

Before the Cubs can start thinking about the carryover to 2024 and beyond, there is the matter of the next two series.

“I think we really like our position and where we're at right now,” Wisdom said.

So much so that Wicks said the players have not felt a need to do much scoreboard watching right now. If the Cubs keep piling up wins, continuing to turn the page on the 3-10 stretch that preceded the sweep over the Rockies, they should be in good shape for a Wild Card berth.

“Oh, I couldn't even tell you one score of any other game,” Wicks said. “We're in a position where, if we're able to take care of our own business, I think we're in a really good spot. That's how we look at it as a team.”