It is bad enough that the Atlanta Braves just finished up a nine-game road trip out west. That is enough to tax any club, no matter how good they are. By and large, it went extremely well with a 6-3 record despite the Braves suffering their first series loss of the season in Seattle. Unfortunately, things don't get any easier upon returning home.
Following a much-deserved off day on Monday following their series win over LA, the Braves welcome the Cubs to town this week. While most people agree that the Braves and Dodgers have been the top two teams in the National League to this point in the season, the Cubs have a strong argument of their own, and Atlanta is going to have their hands full before mercifully getting to a softer spot of their schedule.
Braves have the red-hot Cubs up next before their schedule finally eases up a bit
Chicago is going to be quite a test for the Braves. The Cubs will have Shota Imanaga and Ben Brown taking the mound this week, and both starters have been great to start the year. Their offense has been a bit less formidable, but they still have Seiya Suzuki, Moises Ballesteros, and Nico Hoerner hitting well enough to help Chicago to two different 10-game win streaks in 2026 so far. There is also Dansby Swanson, who is very capable of going out and getting a little bit of revenge. The good news is that the Cubs have definitely been a worse team on the road this year, and they just dropped two straight to the Rangers.
After the Cubs series, things do get a little bit easier for the Braves. Not only should Ronald Acuña Jr. be back or close to it by then, but they follow the Cubs series with a home series against the Red Sox, a road series against the Marlins, and then another home series against the Nationals. Those are all teams that can be dangerous, but Atlanta will take those match-ups all day over having to deal with the Dodgers and Cubs.
One very important wrinkle to keep in mind for this series and beyond is that the Braves don't have another day off after Monday until May 25. That is going to be a big strain on the bullpen and potentially the rotation, depending on how things go. We could see Walt Weiss be very careful how much he uses guys early on in order to survive this stretch without an off-day. Of course, if he does that, handling the Cubs at the start here will be even harder.