By Bruce Levine–

CHICAGO (CBS) — The newly coined last words of Cubs right-hander John Lackey as he left the interview Wednesday were telling.

“I came here to win a World Series,” Lackey said. “I didn’t come here to get a haircut.”

The headline-grabbing words came after the Cubs won their 66th game of the season in improbably fashion, beating the Marlins, 5-4, with a walk-off wild pitch in a three-run bottom of the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. When it was over, the Cubs noted there’s only one goal, one direction in mind.

“I don’t think anybody would be satisfied with anything less,” added second baseman Ben Zobrist, who drew the bases-loaded walk that tied the game at 4-4 in the ninth.

“I don’t think the Chicago Cub fans would be satisfied with anything less either. So we know the end goal, and we are still a long way from there. We just need to keep playing good baseball and put ourselves in a good position.”

Chicago has won seven of its past eight games and is back to playing solid all-around baseball again. Since the All-Star break, the Cubs are 13-6, the best record over that period in baseball.

Playing .684 ball will win you a lot of divisions. At 66-41 and with a 9.5-game division lead at the conclusion of its afternoon game, the Cubs are threatening to walk away with the NL Central by mid-September.

On Wednesday, the Cubs benefited from an erratic ninth by Marlins closer A.J. Ramos, who walked three in the inning. Chicago tied the game at 4-4 on a sacrifice fly by Dexter Fowler and the bases-loaded walk to Zobrist that followed an intentional walk to Anthony Rizzo.

On Ramos’ 33rd pitch, fatigue set in and he uncorked a pitch three feet wide of catcher Jeff Mathis. Matt Szczur easily sprinted home with the winning run for the Cubs’ second walk-off win in the past four games.

“A big part of the end of that game was just are fans purely,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “Our fans picked us up in the end, so I just want to recognize that from the beginning.”

Added Fowler: “We try to drag the pitcher out for as long as we can. When we do that, it means we are doing our jobs. That is the way it happened. He (Ramos) started to get fatigued. He started throwing the ball all over the place which was awesome. That gave us a chance to stand up there, be patient and still get a pitch to hit.”

Like his rotation brothers, Lackey has been stellar in all of his starts since the All-Star break. He took a no-decision Wednesday, going seven innings and allowing three runs.

The Cubs closed out their homestand with a 7-1 record. They are 25 games over .500 for the first time since June 21.

“We have a good group,” Lackey said. “We have a group that fights until the last out. It is fun to see. Just like the other night, all of those (nine) pitchers getting into that game. Those kinds of crazy games can roll over into some positive energy.”

Chicago has an off day Thursday before starting a three-game series at Oakland on Friday. The Cubs return home next Tuesday.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.