With 18 games remaining in the regular season for both the Cubs and Milwaukee, the National League Central Division race is likely to be decided by which team blinks first.
The two teams haven’t been separated by more than 11/2 games since Aug. 30, or more than a half game since July 27.
While the Cubs don’t stress out over falling behind Milwaukee, there’s no question they would rather not be playing catch-up.
“I’d rather be in first,” manager Lou Piniella said before Tuesday’s game at Minute Maid Park. “I like the idea of controlling your own destiny. I like the idea of playing ahead. Once you learn to play ahead, it’s much easier than chasing.”
The Cubs blew an early three-run lead to Houston on Tuesday night before losing 5-4 to Houston in 11 innings to fall one game behind Milwaukee.
The Astros won on Luke Scott’s one-out triple to right-center off Ryan Dempster that scored pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett.
The Brewers beat Pittsburgh 6-1, while the Cardinals dropped a 7-2 decision to Cincinnati. Has it suddenly become a two-way race between the Cubs and Milwaukee?
“They have had a tough go,” Piniella said of St. Louis. “Are they out of it? No. They have us directly in front of them [this weekend], and they have Milwaukee a week down the road or 10 days down the road. They’re still in this thing, no question.”
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CUBS HITS
– The Cubs and White Sox have one thing in their favor when it comes to the free-agent market: Everyone loves Chicago. In a Sports Illustrated survey of 454 players, Chicago was picked as the favorite road trip with 30 percent of the vote, followed by San Diego (15 percent), New York (11) and Seattle (8). The least favorite road trip was Milwaukee and Detroit (13 percent), followed by Washington D.C. (8) and New York (8)
Astros outfielder Luke Scott (right) celebrates Tuesday with Humberto Quintero after driving in winning run. [ ap photo ]
