Wednesday notes:
- THEY’RE BETTER THAN YOU THINK: Since Aug. 16, the Cubs are 12-6. Only the Yankees have been better, at 12-4. The Giants, Mets, Rangers and Red Sox are 11-6. The Phillies and Pirates are 10-6. If the Cubs win at the same rate in their remaining games, they will go 15-8 and finish 95-67. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- MEATLOAFING: This is the 15th of the Cubs’ 46 series in which they have won the first two games. There was no third game in one series. They completed a three-game sweep in five of the rest and lost the third game in seven. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- KING TUCK: Kyle Tucker, last 11 games since Aug. 22: .400/.489/.800 (16-for-40) with four doubles, four home runs, six walks, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored.
- THIS DAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Pete LaCock hits a grand slam off future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson and the Cubs defeat the Cardinals 11-6 at Wrigley Field. It was the final game of Gibson’s career. It happened 50 years ago today, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 1975.
Cubs lineup:
Braves lineup:
Cade Horton, RHP vs. Bryce Elder, RHP
Cade Horton has recently become a favorite for NL Rookie of the Year. And his numbers since July 1 tell the story: 10 starts, 1.34 ERA, 0.969 WHIP, 48 strikeouts in 53.2 innings. Even in the hitting paradise that is Coors Field, Horton held the Rockies to two runs over five innings.
He’s never faced the Braves. He has faced new Braves OF Jake Fraley, who came in with the Reds last month. Fraley went 0-for-2. Hoping for more just like that tonight.
Bryce Elder is one of only two Braves starters who’s made at least 20 starts this year, which tells you how decimated the Braves rotation has been by injury. He’s thrown 124.2 innings, which would be third-most on the Cubs staff and 78 other MLB pitchers have more innings this year.
Elder had a pretty good year in 2023, making the NL All-Star team, but has spent much of 2024 and 2025 in Triple-A due to ineffectiveness. His last start against the Cubs was in 2023 and most of those Cubs aren’t on the team anymore. He has a 5.60 ERA over his last three starts, though he did hold the Phillies to one run over seven innings in his last outing Aug. 29. As you can see from the chart below, he doesn’t throw particularly hard and relies on offspeed stuff. Hopefully Cubs hitters can square that up tonight.
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Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. You can find out if Marquee is available via a provider in your area here.
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Braves site Battery Power. If you do go there to interact with Braves fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2025 Game Thread procedure will be identical to last year’s.
You’ll find the game preview posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.
You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
