Cubs vs. Braves Lineup: Tyrone Taylor & Matt Shaw Return, Kevin Gausman Time, More

The Chicago Cubs are coming off one of their best wins in weeks.

David Peterson pitched a gem against the Atlanta Braves' solid lineup while Pete Crow-Armstrong was in full NL MVP form with four hits. They're hoping to take advantage of dodging one of the Braves' several aces again tonight, but that's a lot easier said than done against this star-studded group.

Game Info

Who: Atlanta Braves (88-63) at Chicago Cubs (84-67)
Where: Wrigley Field
When: 6:40 CT
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Listen: 104.3 The Score

Chicago Cubs Lineup

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
2. Seiya Suzuki, RF
3. Alex Bregman, 3B
4. Tyrone Taylor, LF
5. Nico Hoerner, SS
6. Michael Busch, 1B
7. Matt Shaw, DH
8. Pedro Ramírez, 2B
9. Miguel Amaya, C

With a lefty on the mound for the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago Cubs are making their typical changes. Tyrone Taylor has been red-hot against southpaws in recent weeks, earning hm another start at the cleanup spot. He'll take over for Ian Happ in left field.

Meanwhile, Matt Shaw is back for his first start since September 8 against the Milwaukee Brewers. He would at least find his way into each Pirates game, but he only found his way on base once. Down the stretch, it'll be interesting to see if Craig Counsell does turn to Shaw a little bit more in hopes of heating him up before the playoffs.

Atlanta Braves Lineup

1. Drake Baldwin, C
2. Ronald Acuña Jr., DH
3. Matt Olson, 1B
4. Michael Harris II, CF
5. Mauricio Dubón, LF
6. Austin Riley, 3B
7. Mike Yastrzemski, LF
8. Ozzie Albies, 2B
9. Brewer Hicklen, RF

On the Mound ...

Aug 29, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Kevin Gausman (12) delivers the ball during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cubs – Kevin Gausman, RHP

After Kevin Gausman's best performance as a member of the Chicago Cubs, he laid an egg. The Milwaukee Brewers were all over the veteran last week, as he allowed eight hits and 6 earned runs in 4.0 innings of action. The big trade deadline target even allowed three homers, which is pretty darn rare against the contact-heavy Brewers.

The good news is that we have seen him bounce back before. The bad news is that his last outing against the Atlanta Braves was similarly ugly. While with the Toronto Blue Jays, Gausman forked over 4 earned runs on just five hits, though he did at least finish with six strikeouts.

The Braves are pretty darn good at making hard contact, too, which has been a problem for Gausman all year. He will want to limit his four-seamers and potentially focus more on the split-finger, which has a near 41.9 percent whiff rate.

Braves – Martin Perez, LHP

Martin Perez has a 3.08 ERA in 28 games this season, though he's not nearly as dominant as the Braves' other starters. Perez, like Gausman, is prone to some off nights. He has a walk rate in the double digits and has been pulled early from games plenty of times this season.

With that said, Perez is also only one game removed from throwing 7.0 innings of scoreless ball against the Tampa Bay Rays. When his offspeed stuff is locked in, he can generate plenty of ground balls and does a great job limiting extra-base hits.

The big question is simply which version of Perez will show up tonight? Will the Cubs feed right into his hands with soft contact, or can they manage to get Walt Weiss to the mound early?

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