The Chicago Cubs return from the All-Star as one of the top teams in baseball. After a successful first half of the season, they stand at No.1 for the first time in seven years and they are aiming to keep their foot on the gas as the postseason appears to be in sight. Joe Madden has the young talent of Chicago competing much faster than most expected them to and optimism is high. Hoping to keep momentum working in their favor, they hit the road to face an Atlanta Braves team trending in the wrong direction.
Kyle Hendricks will take the mound for Chicago hoping to continue his scoreless streak as the Cubs are on a three-game road win streak. Hendricks is 4-4 with a 3.55 ER on the season while finishing before the break with three straight scoreless outings. He has gone 22 1/3 innings without a run while giving up just five hits over seven innings against the White Sox. Hendricks is thriving with a 7.75 strikeout percentage per game in his last seven starts.
Hendricks will not be playing with Miguel Montero behind the plate. The catcher is officially out until September with a jammed left thumb as prospect Kyle Schwarber takes his place. In his first six games he went 8 for 22 with a home run. He will split duties with David Ross and Taylor Teagarden. All-Stars Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant will return to the plate as the Cubs have their best record entering the second half of the season since 2008.
Chicago will face a Braves that limped their way to the All-Star break while trending in the wrong direction. Right before the break closer Jason Grilli tore his Achilles trying to cover first base. He came to the team following the trade of Craig Kimbrel and now Atlanta is scrambling to replace him. On top of that, Freddie Freeman is expected to remain on the disabled list until the end of August as his wrist injury is worse than expected. The Braves also have slumps taking place with Andrelton Simmons and Jace Peterson which means their offense is non-existent.
Julio Teheran will take the mound after a roller coaster first-half of the season. The pitcher is much better at home going 5-0 with 2.04 ERA in eight starts while being 1-4 with a 6.95 ERA in 10 starts on the road. He began to pick things up in his last two outings before the break, but the Braves need to see a lot more from Teheran in the coming months.