Cubs' Playoff Hunt: In Full Control After Sweep Of Cardinals

(CBS) A three-game sweep of the rival Cardinals over the weekend at Wrigley Field has left the Cubs in prime position to reach the playoffs and defend their World Series championship.

As Chicago has Monday off, let's reset the situation about where everything stands and what awaits.

NL Central standings
Cubs 83-66
Brewers 79-70 (4 GB)
Cardinals 77-72 (6 GB)

Cubs' remaining 13 games
at Rays, at Rays
at Brewers, at Brewers, at Brewers, at Brewers
at Cardinals, at Cardinals, at Cardinals, at Cardinals
vs. Reds, vs. Reds, vs. Reds

Cubs' magic number to clinch NL Central: 10

The Cubs' magic number decreases by one every time they win a game or the Brewers lose one.

Playoff odds

The Cubs have a 94 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, per FiveThirtyEight, with a 92 percent shot of winning the NL Central. Chicago's odds at winning the World Series are 9 percent.

Fangraphs pegs the Cubs with a 96.6 percent chance of winning the division and 97.7 shot of reaching the playoffs, while Baseball Prospectus rates the Cubs as 90 percent favorites to win the division and gives them 92.9 percent playoff odds.

Scenarios in play

Barring a sharp downturn in the final two weeks, the Cubs will win the NL Central and a berth into the National League Divisional Series. That matchup will almost certainly come against the Washington Nationals, who are six games back of the Dodgers in the loss column for the best record in the National League. And that Cubs-Nationals series will almost certainly open up in Washington D.C., as the Nationals are seven games clear of the Cubs with just 13 games to play. The starting date for the NLDS is Friday, Oct. 6. The Nationals took the season series from the Cubs, 4-3.

Should the Cubs struggle mightily down the stretch and not hold off the Brewers or Cardinals for the NL Central crown, there's a chance they'd still be in contention for the second wild-card spot. Chicago is currently 1.5 games clear of Colorado, which holds the second spot and the right to play at Arizona in the wild-card game on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Of course, if the Cubs falter in the NL Central race, they likely faltered to the extent that the Rockies would hold them off for the second wild-card spot.