If the Cubs’ victories Tuesday and Wednesday proved anything, it is how up-for-grabs the National League Central really is.
‘‘We’re not going out of it,’’ left fielder Ian Happ said after the Cubs’ 10-6 victory Wednesday against the Pirates. ‘‘We’re not looking way up, having to win 20 in a row. Just continue to play good baseball. There’s a lot left.’’
At the end of the Cubs’ comeback victory, they sat only 4½ games behind the division-leading Pirates, their direction at the trade deadline Aug. 1 still to be determined.
‘‘It’s probably rare to be at a point where you would say that about a division in the middle of June, where I think anyone can still win it,’’ president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said before the game. ‘‘But no one has pulled away or even pulled away from .500.’’
After the game, the Pirates (34-32) were only two games above .500. The Cubs (30-37) were seven games below.
‘‘Given where we are in relation to .500, I think in a normal season we would be looking at a much steeper climb than we are right now,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘And, obviously, that’s a fortunate thing.’’
So far, the Cubs haven’t taken advantage of the surprisingly short climb to the top of the NL Central. But they have time to change that.
Speculation already is swirling about the return the Cubs could get if they traded players such as outfielder Cody Bellinger and right-hander Marcus Stroman, top performers who are likely headed to free agency at the end of the season.
Stroman is expected to opt out of his contract and has been open about a stall in extension talks. On Wednesday, Hoyer addressed Stroman’s recent tweet and comments about the situation while abiding by his own policy against talking about ongoing negotiations.
‘‘I love the fact that he wants to be here,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘And we’ve had conversations about it, and I’m not going to disclose what we’ve talked about. But there’s dialogue, and we’ll keep that in-house.’’
Stroman described that dialogue as ‘‘talking in circles.’’
Negotiating this deep into the season hasn’t been standard practice for the Cubs’ front office.
‘‘In theory, any in-season negotiation is more difficult,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘You’re getting different data every five days, I think it can become more challenging. But I wouldn’t discuss it with this in particular.’’
Right now, the trade deadline looms as a key date for those extension talks. But if the Cubs make a real push for the division, that no longer will be the case.
On Wednesday, the Cubs played like a team determined to make the climb.
They fell behind early. Left-hander Drew Smyly, who hadn’t given up multiple home runs in a game all season, surrendered two in the first inning as the Pirates opened a 3-0 lead.
The Pirates led 5-1 unil the Cubs punched back in the sixth, sending 11 batters to the plate.
Dansby Swanson and Christopher Morel led off the inning with back-to-back singles. An out later, Yan Gomes and Nick Madrigal drew walks to load the bases and drive in a run, respectively. Mike Tauchman then hit a line drive into shallow center field to drive in Morel and Gomes and cut the Pirates’ lead to 5-4.
With two outs, Seiya Suzuki drew a four-pitch walk to reload the bases for Happ, who drilled a single through the left side of the infield to score Madrigal and Tauchman — who spun as he popped up from his slide, brandishing a fist in celebration — to give the Cubs their first lead of the night.
They’d tack on another run in the sixth and three more in the eighth.
‘‘You can say what you want about the last month or so,’’ Smyly said, ‘‘but all it takes is flipping the switch and everybody starts synching up together.’’
