You can't subtract from the W column either. So, doesn't it matter as well? Yes it does. That's why the standings are calculated using both the wins and losses of respective teams. Yes, the Cubs have 5 less losses, but they also have to play 4 more games than the brewers from here on out. On average you can expect the Cubs to lose at least 1 of those, if not two. Of course, they could win them all, but that still doesn't matter. Anyway, if your logic was correct (it isn't) I assure you that MLB would show the Brewers 5 games back on their standings page. Back to reality though, right now the biggest thing that matters is these two games coming up against the Cubs. Brewers will be either 1,3, or 5 out after this series. In my opinion this could either make the race tight to the end or make it very hard for the Brewers to realistically keep up with the Cubs. So, the simple question here is how many more times would the Cubs need to lose than the Brewers for the remainder of the season for the two teams to end up tied. You can turn it around and ask how many more games the Brewers would need win than the Cubs over the remainder of the season in order to catch them. The answer doesn't change. It's five either way meaning the Brewers have to make up five games on the Cubs from now until the end of the season, which means they are five games back. The Brewers can win all the games they want and it won't matter unless the Cubs lose five more times than the Brewers (hence, you can make up wins but not losses). Not only is the logic sound, it is an absolute mathematical certainty that the Brewers are currently five games behind the Cubs.