CHICAGO — It has been a while since Chicago Cubs fans had to figure out the magic number, a flashback to the late 2010s that disappeared around the same time Kyle Schwarber was nontendered.

But it’s time to brush up on those math skills again.

The magic number for the Cubs to clinch a postseason spot was down to seven by late Friday afternoon after a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays before a sun-kissed crowd of 38,794.

That means it’s likely they’ll celebrate on the road next week in Pittsburgh or Cincinnati, barring an unfortunate series of mishaps.

Either way, this weekend’s series against the Rays at Wrigley Field is important for more than Anthony Rizzo’s grand retirement party Saturday afternoon.

The Cubs need to keep whittling down that magic number and give manager Craig Counsell a chance to set his postseason rotation before the final week of the season — not that he’d reveal it to nosy media types.

Counsell confirmed Friday that he has not made any decisions on the postseason rotation, noting the Cubs haven’t clinched anything yet. Makes perfect sense.

But that won’t stop anyone from speculating on which of his three top starters — Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga or Cade Horton — would get the ball in Game 1 of a best-of-three wild-card series. Boyd, who allowed four runs over five innings Friday to notch his 13th win, has been the de facto ace, while Imanaga is the rotation’s biggest star and Horton has been the most dominant of the three in the second half with an 0.84 ERA.

Counsell probably will be second-guessed no matter which way he goes, but any of those three should give Cubs fans reason for optimism in a best-of-three series.

Though the Cubs still have an outside chance at catching the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central, the priority obviously is keeping that top wild-card spot, which would mean all games at Wrigley Field for the first round.

“Cubs fans have been showing up all year,” catcher Carson Kelly said before Friday’s game. “It’d be really special to host some games here.”

The Cubs are 45-28 at Wrigley and are 16-7-1 in home series, so it would make their life a lot easier.

“It’s huge,” reliever Brad Keller said of the home-field advantage. “We’ve said it all year long, it’s just an insane atmosphere here. We’ve had some games already that have felt like the playoffs. It’s loud, everyone on their feet for big moments. Obviously it’s huge having home-field advantage with three games. It’d be massive.”

The Cubs were four games ahead of San Diego for the top wild-card spot before the Padres played the lowly Colorado Rockies on Friday night. The Padres are neck-and-neck with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, and the loser of that race figures to be the Cubs’ opponent.

Counsell recently downplayed the home-field advantage in the postseason, which isn’t as significant as it is in the regular season, though he obviously would prefer being at Wrigley.

The Cubs haven’t been to the postseason since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and haven’t won a postseason game since 2017, when they split two home games with the Washington Nationals in the NL Division Series, then lost two of three home games to the Dodgers in the NLCS when Justin Turner was named co-MVP with his Dodgers teammate Chris Taylor.

In 2018 the Cubs lost 1-0 to the Rockies in the wild-card game at Wrigley, and they went 0-2 against the Miami Marlins at Wrigley in 2020, scoring only one run in two postseason games with the ballpark mostly empty due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Wrigley Field obviously would be electric for the first postseason game with a packed house in seven years, but the Cubs have 15 games remaining before changing their focus. For now they need to navigate through injuries to Kyle Tucker (left calf strain) and closer Daniel Palencia (right shoulder strain) and try to breathe some life into an offense that has slumped in the second half, entering the day ranked 26th in hitting (.233), 25th in slugging (.383) and 27th in runs scored (201).

They wound up with 12 hits Friday, overcoming an early deficit for their third straight win and watching the bullpen throw four perfect innings.

Palencia played catch Friday, and his role upon his return will be “getting outs,” according to Counsell, who refused to designate him as closer. Palencia has struggled with a 5.94 ERA in the second half and allowed five runs without retiring a batter before being injured Sunday in a loss to the Nationals.

Keller threw a 1-2-3 eighth for his 22nd consecutive scoreless outing, and Andrew Kittredge finished it off for his second straight save in place of Palencia.

Tucker, meanwhile, continued rehabbing from his calf injury and could test it by running Monday. He’s eligible to return Tuesday, though Counsell said that was “unlikely.” Counsell also said Michael Soroka’s rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa went well and he would be activated soon, giving him another bullpen option.

Former Cub Christopher Morel smacked a three-run home run off Boyd in his first Wrigley at-bat since being dealt to the Rays last year, but the Cubs tied it with a three-run second off Shane Baz and took the lead in the third on a Moisés Ballesteros RBI triple. They never relinquished it, and Ian Happ added a solo home run in the fourth.

Nico Hoerner tripled and had a pair of hits as he edged closer to the .300 mark with a .296 average. Hoerner is batting .375 in September and could challenge Trea Turner (.305) and Sal Frelick (.294) for the NL batting title. The Nic-O-Meter will be something to watch down the stretch for the most consistent hitter in the Cubs lineup.

“I think there’s only one guy in the National League over .300,” he said of Turner. “It’s a reflection of quality of pitching right now, what’s emphasized for players offensively and defensive alignments. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into that.”

The Cubs aren’t a team loaded with big names like the Dodgers, but they’re on the verge of doing something special, and playoff baseball at Wrigley Field should never be taken for granted.

“That’s what makes this team fun,” Keller said. “We find different ways to win games. We don’t rely solely on the home run ball or the stolen base. We adjust our game to however the wind goes. It’s not like that anywhere else.”

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