Pete Crow-Armstrong attained membership in the 40-40 club by swiping his 40th base, complementing a major league-leading 45 home runs, and the Chicago Cubs secured their second consecutive postseason berth with a 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins on Thursday.

Seiya Suzuki went yard for the Cubs (88-71), who thereby secured one of the National League's three wild card berths.

Chicago, likewise, proved a wild card last year, when the Cubs dispatched San Diego in the first round before succumbing to Milwaukee in a Division Series.

The Cubs are set to make consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since a run of four straight from 2015-18, a stretch that in 2016 encompassed their first championship since 1908.

The Cubs secured their berth hard on the heels of the White Sox, who had punched their postseason ticket with a 9-1 rout at Kansas City.

Miami (78-81) found itself assured of a third consecutive season without a winning record.

A presumptive frontrunner for the NL MVP award, Crow-Armstrong has become the seventh member of the 40-40 club, a fraternity that counts among its ranks Los Angeles Dodgers sensation Shohei Ohtani and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.

Jose Canseco, with the 1988 Oakland Athletics, was the inaugural member.

Crow-Armstrong clubbed his 45th home run in Sunday’s 9-1 rout at Cincinnati, thereby surpassing his previous career best.

The 24-year-old worked a leadoff walk off Tyler Phillips in the opening frame and, on the ensuing pitch to Suzuki, pilfered second base—his 40th steal in 47 attempts.

As the Wrigley Field videoboard heralded the accomplishment, fans chanted “MVP.”

Ohtani had been the preceding player to achieve a 40-40 season, slugging 54 home runs and swiping 59 bases for the 2024 Dodgers.

Acuña, for his part, amassed 41 homers and pilfered 73 bases with Atlanta in 2023.

Alfonso Soriano (2006, Washington), Alex Rodriguez (1998, Seattle) and Barry Bonds (1996, San Francisco) constitute the remaining 40-40 cohort.

Matthew Boyd (10-5) yielded a solitary run on five hits and two walks across seven innings, while Ryan Zeferjahn, in a flawless ninth, secured his seventh save, thereby completing a five-hitter.

Ian Happ led off the sixth inning with a triple off Jack Ralston (0-2) and, three pitches later, scored on Nico Hoerner’s single, thereby breaking a 1-1 deadlock.

Miami's Jakob Marsee came through with an RBI single in the third, while Suzuki, in the fifth, unleashed his 26th home run—a drive off Jack Ralston.

The Marlins make their return to Miami on Friday, there to inaugurate a season-concluding, three-game series against Atlanta.

The Cubs are slated to contest a day-night doubleheader on Friday in Boston; the opener was postponed to Sunday by Major League Baseball owing to a forecast of inclement weather.

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