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The Good And The Bad From The Chicago Cubs Series Victory Over The Braves

Originally posted on Chicago Cubs on SI
By Maddy Dickens | Last updated Sep 12, 2025 12:53 PM ET

The Chicago Cubs are in their easiest stretch of the season and the team is trying to solidify their spot as the top wild card in the National League, maybe even creep up on the Milwaukee Brewers.

The first team the Cubs will face over .500 this month won't be for another 10-days when they take on the New York Mets.

Unfortunately, going into the series with the Atlanta Braves they had just dropped two back-to-back games to the Washington Nationals. Then kept the streak alive with a 4-1 loss in the opener. However, the ballclub bounced back to snap the three-game losing streak.

For the most part, Chicago looked strong on the mound, but there are still questions surrounding the starting rotation when the postseason comes around. There are still some struggling to find a groove swinging a bat, but their game two victory was their third time this month already that they have scored more than six runs, which is a huge win for the offense.

Some Players Shining Brigther Than Others

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Even in their lone loss of the series there were some positives to come off the mound. There has been serious concerns on where Shota Imanaga is going to find himself in the starting rotation when October rolls around.

Imanaga had more strikeouts (four) than earned runs (three) in his quality start even though they went on to lose the game 4-1 and their was a serious bright spot with the bullpen- Aaron Civale. Civale has only recently been with the team (picked up on waivers from the Chicago White Sox) and he was able to finish the game off with only two hits.

Cade Horton. Nothing but good things can be said about Horton who is performing at elite levels. Horton added another win to the incredible season that he is having . The rookie sensation led the team to a 6-1 win in his own quality start.

There has been an issue with consistency at the plate for the Cubs, specifically with those in the outfield. Ian Happ has been fairly ridiculed and he didn't put any of the doubts to rest this series. Happ struck out four times in the finale alone (five in total).

Cade Horton's 2nd half ERA: 0.84

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Chicago is starting to find some momentum as the clock on the regular season draws near. Their main goal has to be that top wild card spot and building as much confidence as possible. They are now gearing up to take on the Tampa Bay Rays before starting another road trip.

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This article first appeared on Chicago Cubs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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