Jameson Taillon allowed two hits in six innings, and Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong homered as the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 on Monday night and got closer to clinching a postseason berth.

Chicago (86-64) opened a four-game lead over San Diego for the top NL wild card and trails NL Central-leading Milwaukee by five games with 12 games remaining.

The Cubs won for the fifth time in six games and sent the Pirates to their ninth loss in 10 games.

With the win and a loss by the San Franscisco Giants, the Cubs' magic number to reach the playoffs is 2. They could clinch as early as Tuesday.

The Cubs are trying to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, when they won the NL Central title during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. That ended a run of five playo

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