Why The Chicago Cubs Must Sweep The Braves This Week

With a come-from-behind victory on Monday, the Chicago Cubs are poised to take a much needed three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field.

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The last month of baseball is off to a good start for the Chicago Cubs. Not only did they come from behind to beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-6 in extra innings, but their NL Central-leading rival, the Milwaukee Brewers, lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Entering Tuesday's games, the Cubs (79-59) sit 5.5 games back of the Brewers (85-54) for the division crown. The Cubs also hold a five-game lead over the top NL Wild Card spot over the San Diego Padres (72-62).

They continue to chase down the Brewers for the top spot in the NL Central Division, and make their return to the postseason for the first time since 2020.

Why the Cubs can't drop these two games against the Braves

Jul 25, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell (11) talks with Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty (84) before the game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Atlanta is now ten games below .500 and losers in six of their last ten games. This is the type of opponent that Chicago must earn the sweep against to gain ground in the division race or even pad their Wild Card lead.

Milwaukee are facing the tougher opponent in the NL East leaders, Philadelphia. The Brewers have now lost two in a row and have the same record as the Braves in their last ten games (4-6).

This series serves as a perfect stage for the Cubs to cut away at the 5.5 game deficit. The Brewers have no more games left against the 2016 World Series champions. Thus, every game on Chicago's schedule matters from here on out.

Aug 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The sweep by the San Francisco Giants on the road hurt the Cubs. Their offense struggled as they failed to score more than three runs in any game of the series. That prevented Chicago from catching up in their climb to catch up to Milwaukee.

On Tuesday, Shota Imanaga (8-6) takes the mound for the Cubs against the Braves' Joey Wentz (5-4). Statistically, the left-handed hurler for Chicago is the better pitcher of the two.

Imanaga has pitched just over 38 innings more than Wentz, yet the Kitakyushu, Japan native has walked 14 less batters. That type of ball control will benefit the Cubs as Chicago has thrown the fewest amount of walks so far this season (360). The Braves have drawn the third-highest total in the league as they are three away from clearing 500.

Aug 13, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton (22) delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Cade Horton (9-4) takes the mound on Wednesday in the series finale against the Braves. Chicago will face Atlanta's Bryce Elder (5-9). The 24-year-old starter for the Cubs went 6-1 in August and is 3-1 at home this season.

Of the nine Game 2s in all of Chicago's series played in August, the Cubs won six of those, including six of their last seven. If that trend continues for Chicago and if Milwaukee were to lose, then the distance between first and second in the NL Central could shrink just a bit. A sweep of the Braves by the Cubs could make it shrink even more.

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