00:00Now, there is one National League story that we have to talk about,
00:03and that was what the Cubs did in the month of August
00:06and what they did last night.
00:07The Cubs hit nine home runs last night.
00:10Nine.
00:10I bet the Brewers' money line.
00:12Good bet, Matt.
00:14Nine home runs.
00:15That barrage of nine home runs, three by Alex Bregman,
00:20gave the Cubs a franchise record for a calendar month
00:24of 62 home runs in the month of August.
00:27That is second only to the New York Yankees,
00:30who hit, in 2019, 74 home runs in the month of August.
00:36Pete Crowe Armstrong and Alex Bregman just wrapped up a ridiculous month.
00:41They combined for 25 or more home runs, 25 or more walks,
00:4850 or more RBIs, and they scored 50 or more runs.
00:51In one calendar month, that had not happened since 1961,
00:56when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle did it,
00:59the year that Roger Maris hit 60 home runs.
01:03That's insane.
01:05That is an absolutely insane month of August for Pete Crowe Armstrong.
01:10And a lot of it, look, Bregman got hot,
01:12but Pete Crowe Armstrong did a lot of that.
01:15What the RBIs and the walks and the runs scored,
01:16a lot of that was what was Pete Crowe Armstrong,
01:18who now is the odds-on favorite to win the National League MVP
01:21because of the month that he just had.
01:24The Cubs are peaking, and you've got to worry,
01:27are they peaking too early?
01:29Like, big game today against the Brewers.
01:31They beat the Brewers finally.
01:33That was their first win at Wrigley Field against Milwaukee this season.
01:36That was a big win yesterday.
01:38What do the Brewers look like today?
01:40Do they bounce back?
01:41You've got to kind of like the Brewers today
01:43against the Cubs to bounce back
01:45after that shellacking they took last night.
01:47But this is an offense for Chicago right now
01:51that is never out of a game.
01:52And I think for a lot of Cub fans,
01:54they're feeling pretty good about just get to the postseason
01:57and then let's see what happens.
01:59The Cubs start the day seven games back of the Brewers,
02:02so they're not going to catch Milwaukee.
02:04But if they see them in the playoffs,
02:06they want to be able to feel confident that,
02:08hey, we can beat these guys.
02:10I mean, the Cubs have a five-game lead on the Phillies.
02:12Or sorry, they have five games on the Padres, rather.
02:14They're tied with the Phillies at 78-60
02:18for the National League wildcard spot.
02:20The Padres operate that third spot.
02:23They aren't going to catch the Phillies or the Cubs.
02:26Those two teams, we'll see who winds up,
02:28has home field advantage
02:29when the Cubs and Phillies play in that wildcard series.
02:31But the Padres are only a half a game up
02:34on the Arizona Diamondbacks.
02:36One game in the loss column, 73-65 San Diego,
02:3973-66 Arizona.
02:42And then the Marlins come in at 69-69.
02:46Really, that's the only race that's like,
02:48I guess the Cubs and the Phillies is interesting
02:51because who gets to host?
02:52So there's a home field advantage there.
02:55But that's the only real difference.
02:59And then the Padres and the Diamondbacks,
03:01and I guess you include the Marlins,
03:02the National League wildcard is really the only one
03:05that has a very interesting race.
03:08Everything else in baseball right now
03:09is sort of decided.
03:11And we're kind of waiting to see
03:12how we get to the postseason
03:13and who is going to be playing the best.
