Will Chicago Cubs' Brutal Schedule Slow Down Their Hot Start?

The Chicago Cubs have already endured a brutal schedule, and it's not getting any easier.

Apr 19, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; The Chicago Cubs celebrate their win against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field. | David Banks-Imagn Images

The MLB schedule-makers have not been kind to the Chicago Cubs this year.

Over their first 24 games of the season, the Cubs have only played teams from western divisions. They've already faced the Los Angeles Dodgers twice, the Arizona Diamondbacks twice and the San Diego Padres twice, plus the Athletics and Texas Rangers once.

Incredibly, Chicago has yet to play a team from the NL Central.

The NL West has been the best division in baseball this year, but the Cubs have more than held their own. They're 14-10 overall (14-8 since coming back from Japan) and have won five of their last six series.

Things won't get any easier for Chicago, however, which has another tough week coming up. Following Monday's off day, the Cubs continue their homestand with two more games against the Dodgers and three against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Dear god, when will it end? pic.twitter.com/RN1HMaABSv

— Cubs Desk Jockey (@CubsDJ) April 19, 2025

They go on the road after that, but at least they finally get an easy series against the Pittsburgh Pirates to close out the month. Then it's three series against the Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.

Chicago doesn't get to a soft stretch in the schedule until mid-May, when it gets to play the Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox. The Cubs will be a quarter of the way through the season by then, so they'll have a pretty good sense of where they rank compared to other top NL contenders, especially if they're still over .500 by then.

Based on its hot start, Chicago seems legit. The Cubs have had the hardest strength of schedule this year in terms of opponent winning percentage, yet they still lead the NL Central and have one of the best records in baseball.

Chicago has already proven it can hang with some of the best teams in the league. If the Cubs can keep doing it for a few more weeks, that should solidify their status as contenders.