The Chicago Cubs took three-of-five games against the Milwaukee Brewers this week, but face a long climb if they still have hopes of winning the division. The Cubs lost 4-1 to the Brewers in the series finale on Thursday, leaving themselves back by seven games in the standings with just over a month to go in the regular season. Still, the Cubs are in prime position to still reach the postseason for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, owning the top spot in the wild card race. Here’s what you need to know. What are the current National League Central standings? After taking three-of-five games from the Brewers, the Cubs only gained one game in the standings, and still trail Milwaukee by seven games with 34 games remaining in the regular season. The Brewers’ magic number on the Cubs now stands at 28. Here are the standings: Milwaukee – 80-48 Chicago Cubs – 73-55 (7 GB) Cincinnati – 67-61 (13 GB) What about the National League wild card? The Cubs are in a much better position in the wild card hunt, still holding onto the top spot in those standings as we approach the home stretch of the season. The San Diego Padres are also comfortably in the playoff mix, with the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds battling it out for the final spot. Here are those standings: Chicago Cubs – 73-55 San Diego Padres – 71-56 (1.5 GB of Chicago) New York Mets – 67-59 Cincinnati Reds – 67-61 (1 GB of New York) What is the Cubs’ magic number to clinch a playoff berth? The Cubs’ magic number to qualify for the postseason is calculated against the Reds, who are the first team out in the current standings. Currently, the Cubs’ magic number over the Reds stands at 28. Importantly, the Cubs currently hold a 5-4 advantage over the Reds in the season series, which means that they would advance to the postseason if the two clubs ended the year in a tie. If the season ended today, who would the Cubs play? Under Major League Baseball’s playoff structure, the top two wild card teams play each other in a best-of-three series for the first round of the playoffs, while the lowest-seeded division winner plays the lowest-seeded wild card winner. Since the Cubs are on top of the wild card standings, they would play the fifth-seeded team, which currently is the San Diego Padres. The best-of-three series would take place at Wrigley Field since the Cubs are the higher seed. If the two teams were to finish in a tie in the standings, they would have to go to a divisional record tiebreaker, as the Cubs and Padres split their six-game season series. That advantage currently would go to the Cubs, who have a .571 winning percentage against the National League Central, slightly better than the Padres’ .553 against the National League West. The winner of the series would then take on the top-seeded team in the National League, which is of course the Brewers. That would be a best-of-five series, with the first two games and a deciding Game 5, if necessary, in Milwaukee. How tough is the Cubs’ remaining schedule? As things stand, the Cubs only have one more series left against a team currently in a playoff spot, with the New York Mets visiting Wrigley Field in September. The Cubs do have to travel to Cincinnati to play the Reds in their final road series of the season just before that one, and the Reds are trying to chase down the Mets for the final wild card spot in the National League. The Cubs have six games remaining against the Atlanta Braves, who have the fourth-worst record in the National League. They also have three remaining against Colorado, owners of baseball’s worst record, and three games apiece against the Nationals (second-worst) and Pirates (third-worst).