Both teams have clinched. Neither knows where it's playing next week.
The Cubs and Red Sox open a three-game series at Fenway Park on Friday with a doubleheader, moved up because of a nor'easter forecast to hit New England over the weekend. Sunday's game was rescheduled into Friday, and Game 2 was pushed from 6:05 to 5:35 p.m. ET.
How to watch
Game 1 — Friday, Sept. 25, 1:05 p.m. ET
Game 2 — Friday, Sept. 25, 5:35 p.m. ET
Fenway Park, Boston
TV: NESN in New England, Marquee Sports Network in Chicago
Streaming: MLB.TV and Fubo, subject to local blackout
Game 1 probables: RHP Clay Holmes (6-8, 3.25) for Chicago, LHP Alec Gamboa (1-0, 1.16) for Boston.
Game 2 probables: LHP David Peterson (9-8, 4.96) for Chicago, RHP Brayan Bello (6-7, 4.49) for Boston.
Game 1 lineups
Chicago: Pete Crow-Armstrong CF, Seiya Suzuki RF, Alex Bregman DH, Tyrone Taylor LF, Nico Hoerner 2B, Matt Shaw 3B, Michael Busch 1B, Dansby Swanson SS, Miguel Amaya C.
Boston: Roman Anthony LF, Mickey Gasper C, Adley Rutschman DH, Wilyer Abreu RF, Caleb Durbin 3B, Nick Sogard 2B, Jarren Duran CF, Andruw Monasterio 1B, Isiah Kiner-Falefa SS.
Bregman is back two days after being hit in the face by a foul ball while on deck.
What's at stake
Chicago is 88-71 and holds the second National League wild card. San Diego is 89-70, a game ahead, and the difference is home field — the fourth seed hosts the fifth in a best-of-three, and the higher seed hosts every game.
The Cubs are 46-35 at Wrigley and 42-36 on the road. They clinched Thursday with a 2-1 win over Miami, in a game where Pete Crow-Armstrong became the seventh player in major league history to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases.
Boston is 85-74 and holds the second AL wild card, three games up on the White Sox. One more win secures the No. 5 seed.
The Red Sox are 39-39 at Fenway and 46-35 on the road. They're the only playoff team in either league with a better record away from home, which makes the seeding question stranger for them than for anyone else.
Boston was shut out Thursday
Cleveland won 1-0 at Fenway and clinched a postseason berth.
Angel Martínez homered off Ranger Suárez in the second for the only run. Joey Cantillo threw five scoreless for the win, Cade Smith closed it for his 41st save, and Boston went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Suárez took the loss despite allowing three hits in five innings.
The Red Sox struck out twelve times.
Countries on the field
Boston's roster runs through ten countries.
Wilyer Abreu, Andruw Monasterio, Willson Contreras, Ranger Suárez and Jedixson Paez are Venezuelan. Abreu and Monasterio both start Game 1. Brayan Bello, who starts Game 2, is Dominican. Ceddanne Rafaela is from Willemstad, Curaçao. Aroldis Chapman and Johan Oviedo are Cuban. Masataka Yoshida is Japanese. Raymond Burgos, Jovani Morán and Eduardo Rivera are Puerto Rican. Tyron Guerrero is Colombian. Tsung-Che Cheng is from Taiwan. Curtis Mead is Australian, from Adelaide.
Chicago starts Seiya Suzuki, from Tokyo, and Miguel Amaya, the Panamanian catcher from Chitré.
Who's hitting
Crow-Armstrong has 45 home runs, the most in the majors, with 107 RBIs, 40 stolen bases and a .949 OPS. Bregman has 26 homers and 89 RBIs.
Abreu has 24 home runs and 74 RBIs for Boston. Caleb Durbin has 13 homers and 20 steals. Ceddanne Rafaela is hitting .282.
Two long injury lists
Chicago has seven pitchers on the 60-day list — Justin Steele, Cade Horton, Ben Brown, Porter Hodge, Shelby Miller, Hunter Harvey and Phil Maton, most with elbow or arm problems. Kevin Gausman is day-to-day with a shoulder issue.
Boston has six on the 60-day: Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo, Zack Kelly and Triston Casas. Masataka Yoshida is on the 10-day with a hamstring, Curtis Mead with a hand. Willson Contreras is day-to-day.
The rest of the weekend
The final NL wild card is still open. Philadelphia is 87-72 and Arizona 85-74, and the D-backs finish the season in San Diego while the Phillies host Tampa Bay.
The AL West is tied. Houston and Texas are both 79-80, only the division winner gets in, and the Astros hold the head-to-head tiebreaker at 9-4.
Cleveland and the White Sox are both in, playing for the Central title and the first-round bye that comes with it.
Wild card series begin Sept. 29. Division series begin Oct. 3.
Lineups, probables, standings, box score and injury reports via MLB.