Today’s roster move: Here
Wednesday notes:
- THOSE FIRST TWO GAMES: This is the 28th of the Cubs’ 48 series in which they have split the first two games. There was no third game in one series. In the others, they are 14-12 overall and 7-9 after having lost, then won. On the road, they are 8-7, but 4-7 after having lost, then won. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- CUBS AT TRUIST PARK: Since sweeping three games in 2017, the Cubs have lost five straight series at Atlanta: three straight in 2019 and 2023, three of four in 2021 and two of three in 2022 and last year. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- TRACKING A MILESTONE: With their six runs last night, the Cubs have scored 710 for the season, an average of 4.90 per game. They must average 5.29 in their 17 remaining games to reach 800 and 5.88 to average 5.00 for the season. The Cubs have scored at least six runs in 53 games, 36.6 percent of all 145, but only six of their last 29, 20.7 percent. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- MAGIC NUMBERS: The Cubs’ magic number to clinch a postseason spot is 10 and to clinch the top wild-card spot, it’s 15. The Cubs and Padres split their season series, so the tiebreaker between them is the record within the team’s division. The Padres are 26-19 vs. NL West teams with seven games remaining (four vs. Rockies, three vs. D-backs, all at home). The Cubs are 24-18 vs. NL Central teams with 10 games remaining (three vs. Pirates and four vs. Reds on the road, three vs. Cardinals at home). If the teams are still tied after that, the next tiebreaker is the team’s record against other teams in their own league.
Cubs lineup:
Braves lineup:
Jameson Taillon, RHP vs. Chris Sale, LHP
Jameson Taillon has missed considerable time this year, first with a calf injury, then recently with a groin strain.
He threw very well in two starts after returning from the calf injury (11 innings, two runs, one walk, seven strikeouts) and last pitched six days ago in a rehab
outing at Triple-A Iowa.
He has not faced the Braves since May 14, 2024 in Atlanta and don’t look at that boxscore link. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Hoping for better tonight.
Chris Sale had a really good year in 2024, leading MLB in bWAR, ERA, ERA+, FIP, home run rate and strikeouts per nine innings. That got him the NL Cy Young Award.
This year, as have been so many in Sale’s career, has been marred by injury. This year a fractured rib kept him out more than two months. Since his return, he’s allowed two runs in two starts (12.2 innings) and struck out 18.
He was Taillon’s opponent in that 2024 game, the last time he faced the Cubs, and threw seven shutout innings. The only current Cub who’s faced him more than a handful of times is Carlos Santana (14-for-47, .298, two doubles, two home runs, 12 walks). But… most of that was a long time ago. Perhaps Santana can find that again, even if only for one night.
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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.
