CHICAGO — For the playoff-contending Chicago Cubs the series keeps getting bigger.
But for an organization that hasn’t been in post-season contention for a number of seasons, it’s also uncharted territory.
The Cubs opened the second in back-to-back series against wild card contenders on Thursday as the reigning World Series champion San Francisco Giants arrived for a four-game set.
Chicago manager Joe Maddon is trying to keep things on an even keel.
“The concept in spring training is to hopefully get your guys to play the game one way,” Maddon said. “Whenever you’re playing that game you should be not nervous, upset, concerned or having to dial up or dial down. And here comes October and you’re playing in a playoff game and the last thing I want them to do is anything differently then.”
Chicago left fielder Chris Coghlan concurs but he also knows the stakes this week.
“We try to regulate and make every series the exact same, for our sanity,” Coghlan said. “For me, I know who we’re playing. And I know that they’re right there and they’re going to be there at the end.”
Thursday’s 5-4 victory over the Giants allowed the Cubs to leapfrog over the Giants into the second wild card spot. They’ll play San Francisco six more times over the next 21 days.
Pittsburgh holds the first wild card spot. Earlier in the week, the Cubs split two games with the Pirates while a third game was rained out.