Lilly's streak now seven

Jeez. Ted Lilly is now 11-4.

Ted Lilly turned in another strong outing, winning his seventh consecutive decision. Since June 10, Lilly has gone 7-0 with a 2.73 ERA. Since July 2, he's 5-0 with a 1.84 ERA.

With the Padres and Brewers losing today, the Cubs find themselves right in the thick of things. They trail the Padres by just 1/2 game for the final playoff spot in the National League, while they have only one more loss than the Brewers.

The remaining schedule for the Cubs and Brewers is really interesting. We all know that the two teams have identical schedules until August 28 when the two teams will match up head-to-head for the final time this season. But, what about after that crucial head-to-head serieses?

The schedule looks very favorable for the Cubs.

Even though 16 of the final 22 games for the Cubs are on the road, all are against teams currently under .500. Besides, the Cubs are 26-22 on the road so far this year. Meanwhile, the Brewers have 8 of their final 11 games against either Atlanta or San Diego.

The schedule looks favorable against Wild Card opponents too.

The Braves have serieses against the Mets, Brewers, and Phillies in the final three weeks, while Padres have seven games against the Dodgers and Brewers in the final three weeks.

We've still got a long way to go before September even begins. If the Cubs keep winning like they have been, it may not matter what the schedule looks like in the season's final month.