National League’s Best: Braves and Cubs’ 3-Game Showdown Starts With 5–2 Win for Atlanta

It was the Atlanta Braves who racked up their first victory of the young MLB season over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, 5–2, at Truist Park.

Rarely have both the American and National Leagues presented such a highly anticipated showdowns series as what is taking place in Atlanta this week, especially this early in the season. Coming into this three-game series, the Braves and Cubs are ranked one and two in MLB’s power rankings. Both clubs are leading in their respective divisions, as well.

Four Braves pitchers limited the Cubs’ offense to one hit, while Atlanta banged out 11. Atlanta’s scoring was led by Mike Yastrzemski, who knocked in three runs and collected two hits. It was a fifth-inning home run off of Cubs’ starting pitcher Colin Rea that highlighted his hitting on Tuesday night. Rea took the loss, and is now 4–2. Reliever Didier Fuentes gets the win for Atlanta, and is now 2–0.

Game 2 of the series is at 7:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Shota Imanaga gets the start for Chicago, and the Braves will send JR Ritchie to the mound.

So much has gone so right for both these teams in the first seven weeks of the 2026 season.

Chicago already has two ten-game winning streaks. During a recent homestand with the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field, the Cubs experienced three straight walk-off wins. The most dramatic victory during Chicago’s recent winning streak came against the Reds on Wednesday May 6 at Wrigley Field. Pete Crow-Armstrong tied the game with a two-run home run in the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. With the bases loaded in the 10th inning, Michael Busch walked to give the Cubs the win.

The Braves are every bit as confident as the Cubs when it comes to their hitting abilities.

“It feels like there’s no pressure,” Yastrzemski said of Atlanta’s offense to MLB.com after Thursday’s game. “All you have to do is have a good at-bat and move on to the next guy. We have such a deep lineup that there’s a ton of trust. That makes things a lot easier.”

Not only had the Braves come into Tuesday’s game with the best record in the National League at 29–13, but they are in first place, 9 games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies, in the National League East. The Cubs remain ahead of the pack in the National League Central, 2.5 games in front of the surging Milwaukee Brewers.

Coming into Tuesday’s meeting with the Braves, Chicago had lost on Sunday in the third game of a nine-game scheduled road trip, to the Texas Rangers. After the game, Cubs’ third baseman Alex Bregman, who had the lone hit, a fourth-inning solo home run off of Atlanta’s starting pitcher Grant Holmes on Tuesday, didn’t seem rattled by the loss.

“Didn’t play well enough today and left a lot of guys on base,” Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman said to Reuters on Sunday. “But felt like we are in a good spot, playing good baseball. Guys are preparing and executing the game plan.”

When the MLB’s regular season comes to an end in late September, both Atlanta and Chicago are expected to reach the postseason. The Cubs are off to their best start since 2016, the season in which they won the World Series championship for the first time since 1908. This season, the Cubs are 18–5 at Wrigley Field and 9–10 on the road. Their .643 winning percentage trails only the Tampa Bay Rays (.683) and the Braves (.690) among all 30 MLB clubs. The Braves, at 29–13, last won a World Series title in 2021.

The Braves activated shortstop Ha-Seong Kim from the injured list on Monday. Kim made his 2026 season debut on Tuesday. In January, he had surgery on his right middle finger for a torn tendon. Kim went hitless in Tuesday’s game during three at-bats, but did draw a walk. On Monday, Atlanta placed outfielder Eli White on the seven-day concussion injury list. He had experienced concussion symptoms after crashing into the right field wall at Dodger Stadium during Sunday’s 7–2 Braves win, while making a catch on a ball hit by Max Muncy.

Prior to Tuesday’s game at Truist Park, the Braves organization paid respects to Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox and former team owner Ted Turner. Cox, who guided the Braves for 25 seasons, and Turner, who owned the Braves from 1976 to 1996, both died within the past two weeks. Before the ceremonies began, Atlanta’s manager, Walt Weiss, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution how Cox was a master at motivating his players.

“He was a great encourager,” Weiss said before the game. “He had a knack for always making you feel like you were playing better than you actually were. Even the times when you struggled, he went out of his way to make you feel like maybe it wasn’t as bad as you thought.”