CHICAGO — The Cubs’ race for a playoff spot got a whole lot tighter after a bad week on the road.

In fact, the team is on the outside looking in at the Major League Baseball playoffs at the moment – and tiebreakers could be an issue once the regular season ends.

Thanks to five-straight losses, including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks this weekend in Phoenix, the Cubs are currently out of the last Wild Card spot with 12 games to go.

They have a 78-72 record, which is tied with the Marlins, but they have a hold on that last playoff spot since they have a better head-to-head record against the Cubs. That is the tie-breaker for the new six-team playoff format in the MLB, which took out “Game 163” to settle regular season ties.

Miami won the season series against Chicago 4-2, sweeping a series on their home field April 28-30 while the Cubs took 2-of-3 against the Marlins at Wrigley Field May 5-7.

A similar scenario could play out if the Cubs end up in a fight for a playoff spot with the Reds, who are currently a half-game behind them at 78-73. Cincinnati won the regular season series against the Cubs 7-6, which would put the Reds above them should they finish with the same record.

If they end up in a tie with the Diamondbacks, the Cubs would also lose that, since they went 1-6 against Arizona this season. Against the Phillies, who currently are in the top Wild Card spot, the Cubs went 1-5.

The only Wild Card contender the Cubs had a winning record against was the Giants (5-1), and they are currently two games behind them at 76-74.

As for the National League Central division, that appears to be in control of the Brewers, who currently hold a 6 1/2 game lead with just under two weeks to go in the regular season. The Cubs will face them in Milwaukee in a three-game series to end the season.

David Ross’ team is back home this week for a six-game homestand against teams out of playoff contention, starting with a three-game series against the Pirates on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

The Rockies, who took 2-of-3 from the Cubs last weekend, then come in for the final regular season series at Wrigley Field in 2023. They’ll finish up the season on the road with three-game sets against the Braves and Brewers.