The National League Central remains wide open at this late date in the season, with the potential to produce some sort of very surprising outcome. The Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals all still have a chance to win the division, and if any of those three teams falter too much they could be overtaken for a wildcard spot. Friday’s weekly Baseball Swarm considered games from the Central, as well as the rest of the schedule around the league. Here are their predictions.

Try as they might, the Cubs haven’t yet been able to pull away from the rest of the division, despite making some sensational late-season trades. Tonight they’ll send one of those acquisitions, pitcher Cole Hamels, to the mound to try to continue his winning ways against Matt Harvey and the Reds.

This replay shows one divide in the swarm’s cohesion: there’s clearly some early dissent between whether this game will be a one-run or two-runs-plus win for the Cubs. What we end up seeing is a bit of a lazy “J” shape in the puck’s movement. As it heads to the right, the conviction of those who see this game as an easier win carry the day, and this becomes a high confidence pick.

Unanimous AI runs predictive swarms every week for MLB, the NFL and more. Want those picks delivered to your inbox? 

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