CHICAGO -- The Cubs fully expected to be back on the October stage this fall, but the team did not anticipate the kind of daunting, winding road it took to reach the clinching moment on Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

No team is immune to trials and setbacks, but the 2026 Cubs were battered with injuries and obstacles that tested the group and created some drama when it came to finally punching the ticket to the postseason. But in the final home game of the regular season, the North Siders got it done with a 2-1 victory over Miami that featured some fitting heroes.

There was Pete Crow-Armstrong, stealing second base in the first inning and soaking in the “M-V-P!” chants after becoming the seventh player in MLB history to join the 40-40 Club. There was veteran Matthew Boyd, the Opening Day starter, fashioning a gem in a game that had a must-win feel. And there was Ian Happ, the longest-tenured player on the roster, coming through with a triple in the sixth to spark the winning rally in what might be one of his final games with the only ballclub he has known.

Now, the Cubs can at the very least hit the road for the final three games of the season knowing that they have a spot reserved in the playoffs. What Chicago will solve in the next few days is which of the three National League Wild Card spots will wind up in their hands. That will finalize where the Cubs will travel for the first round.

The Cubs have three games left against the Red Sox, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday at Fenway Park. There is a major storm due to hit the region this weekend, so Sunday’s game was moved up and there is still uncertainty surrounding how the series schedule will play out if the weather does not cooperate.

In the meantime, the Cubs can celebrate this first step in what they hope is a longer journey.

This is the first time since 2015-18 that Chicago has been to the postseason in consecutive years. That last run included three trips to the NL Championship Series and a World Series triumph in ‘16 that ended a 108-year drought. Ten years later, this Cubs squad would love nothing more than to make the most of this anniversary season in the coming weeks.

Boyd gave the Cubs seven innings, with his lone setback coming with an RBI single by Jakob Marsee in the third. That run was cancelled out in the fifth, when Seiya Suzuki launched a game-tying solo homer off Marlins reliever Jack Ralston. An inning later, Happ tripled deep into the right-center gap and scored the go-ahead run on a single off the bat of Nico Hoerner.