Cubs Look to Tighten Grip on Playoff Race Against Scrappy Marlins

A Cubs team sitting at 79-62 rolls into loanDepot park Friday night against a Marlins squad at 71-70 that is very much still fighting for its season. These are the kinds of September games that separate contenders from pretenders — and Miami has every reason to make this uncomfortable.

Chicago sends Shota Imanaga to the mound, expected to start in what is a significant pitching advantage on paper. OPINION: Imanaga facing a Marlins lineup that has to piece things together offensively is about as favorable a matchup as the Cubs could draw at this point in the season. Miami counters with Janson Junk, who is expected to start and will need to be sharp to keep a Cubs offense that has real teeth from taking over early.

The player to watch on the Chicago side is Pete Crow-Armstrong, and it isn't particularly close. He's hitting .280 with 39 home runs and 93 RBI on the season — numbers that make him one of the more dangerous bats in the National League at this stage of the year. OPINION: Thirty-nine home runs from a player at his position is the kind of production that changes how opposing pitchers approach an entire lineup, and Junk will have to make real decisions about how to handle him. For Miami, Otto Lopez is the offensive anchor, batting .302 with 62 RBI. He's a contact-first threat who can keep an inning alive. Heriberto Hernandez adds pop with 23 home runs, giving the Marlins at least one legitimate power threat to keep Chicago's pitching honest.

Our model does not have a validated read on this game tonight, so we're not going to manufacture a lean where one doesn't exist. OPINION: What the numbers do tell you is that the Cubs have a meaningful record advantage and a probable starter edge, while the Marlins have the desperation factor that makes September home games genuinely dangerous. Miami at 71-70 is not a team that can afford to sleepwalk through a Friday night. That alone makes this worth watching closely.