Postseason baseball is intense, and the Atlanta Braves plan to enter October with a newfound edge. Atlanta is all but locked into the National League third seed, but their opponent is yet to be determined. Entering Wednesday, the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and San Diego Padres each have an 87-70 record. The Arizona Diamondbacks are 4 games back of each of these teams, so barring an insane turnaround, it's likely we know the NL playoff field; we just don't know the order yet.
Each team presents a different challenge for the Braves, so it's hard to root for any particular team to fall to the six seed. However, one Cubs legend is apparently rooting for a matchup with Atlanta. Former Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo suggested the Cubs should tank the rest of the regular season to secure the sixth seed and face the Braves.
Rizzo's reasoning is a bit head-scratching, and it even got some pushback from his podcast partner, David Ross. However you slice it, what Rizzo said is prime bulletin board material for October, and hopefully the Braves respond accordingly.
Cubs, if you’re listening, Rizzo’s got quite the Wild Card strategy for you 🤫🤣
— Ross and Rizzo Unfiltered (@RossAndRizzo) September 22, 2026
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Anthony Rizzo wants the Cubs to face the Braves in NL Wild Card round
As previously mentioned, the Cubs can very easily finish in any of the 4-6 seeded Wild Card slots. Among the teams slated to play in October's opening round, Rizzo apparently sees the Braves as the easiest opponent for Chicago. Rizzo begins his argument by saying the Cubs have had a lot of success against the Braves this year. Recency bias has to be playing a role here, because the season series is knotted up, with each team collecting three wins.
Additionally, the most recent Braves/Cubs series featured starting pitchers Reynaldo Lopez, Martin Perez, and JR Ritchie. Hate to break it to Rizzo, but Chris Sale is a much different animal than any of those arms. Rizzo adds that winning a road series could produce a ton of confidence for the Cubbies and better position them for the NLDS.
Rizzo's final point is that this side of the bracket is more favorable because the NLDS would be against the Dodgers rather than the Brewers. With all due respect to Milwaukee, rooting for the path to face the 2x defending World Champs is quite odd. It seems you would rather want to give another team the chance to knock the mighty Dodgers out and deal with them in the NLCS if all else fails.
The biggest flaw in Rizzo's strategy is the fact that the Cubs still have a very real chance at securing home field advantage if they can land the fourth seed. No matter the opponent, having an October crowd on your side can really fuel the players, and it seems Rizzo is ready to forgo that so Chicago can face the Braves. As Ross said on the podcast, "that's a bold move, Cotton".
Meanwhile, the Braves have all the fuel they need to come out and showcase why they are not the team you should want to face in October. No bad team is going to make the postseason in the National League (the American League I'll hear you out), so rooting for any particular opponent feels like a death sentence. Atlanta doesn't know their opponent yet, but if it is Chicago, they know one Cubs legend is already overlooking them.
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