The Chicago Cubs are coming off a series win against the Pittsburgh Pirates that took extra innings in the rubber match to get it done.
It was an important victory for the Cubs as it kept them close to the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central race, trailing by just half a game.
Now, they’ll get an idea of how good their team really is when they face the Atlanta Braves in a three-game slate that should give the front office a look at what they might need to chase around the trade deadline if they want to compete against some of the top clubs in the National League.
Of course, it’s not a foregone conclusion that Chicago will lose to the Braves.
Anything can happen in baseball and Atlanta has been average over their last 10 games with a 5-5 record. But, they’re also returning home where they have a dominant 13-4 record, while the Cubs sit at .500 on the year away from Wrigley.
The good news is Chicago will have one of their best starting pitchers available in the rotation after an injury scare kept him out of action during their series against the Pirates.
Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation reports that Jameson Taillon will start on Tuesday.
This comes on the heels of manager Craig Counsell sharing that the right-hander had tweaked his back during a bullpen session prior to his scheduled outing last week. He didn’t pitch in his expected spot on Sunday as they activated their struggling veteran and threw him instead.
Because Taillon already spent time on the injured list with a strained back, this type of tweak raised some concern.
The 32-year-old has been excellent for the Cubs this season with a 3-0 record and 1.13 ERA over his first four starts after a rocky debut year in 2023.
Now, with Shota Imanaga set to pitch the opener on Monday and Taillon scheduled to take the mound on Tuesday, Chicago has given themselves a real chance to take an important series victory against one of the best teams in the National League.
