4 burning questions that will decide Cubs-Braves showdown for NL supremacy

While the Los Angeles Dodgers are widely considered favorites to represent the National League in the World Series, the fact that the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs hold the top two records in the NL cannot be ignored. As good as the Dodgers are, the Braves and Cubs are two elite clubs with star-studded rosters playing elite baseball right now.

Here are some questions fans would love to know the answers to ahead of the Braves welcoming the Cubs to Truist Park for a high-stakes three-game series.

Which NL MVP candidate will shine bright?

Shohei Ohtani is probably the NL MVP favorite right now, even amid his prolonged offensive slump, but he's far from a guarantee to win the award, thanks largely to some stars on the Braves and Cubs' rosters, notably Matt Olson and Nico Hoerner. Olson has been the Braves' best player this year, while Hoerner is establishing himself as one of the two or three best second basemen in the sport.

Olson is off to arguably the best start of his career, as he's slashed .296/.377/.654 with 14 home runs and 36 RBI. He leads the National League with a 1.031 OPS and 2.4 fWAR. As good as Olson has been, Hoerner has been a top 15 player according to fWAR (1.7), and he has a career-high .777 OPS. Furthermore, Hoerner has four home runs already, which has him just six shy of his previous career-high. His offensive numbers won't ever match Olson's, but Hoerner adds more value in the field and on the base paths than Olson does.

Both of these stars can win games singlehandedly for their teams, albeit in different ways. It'll be interesting to see which one has more of an impact in this three-game set.

Can Shota Imanaga keep the ball in the yard?

Shota Imanaga has bounced back after a down year in 2025, posting a 2.28 ERA over 47.1 innings in eight starts. What's most notable about Imanaga's resurgence is the fact that he's done a much better job of preventing home runs. Imanaga allowed 31 home runs in 2025, 20 of which came in the second half. He allowed three home runs in two starts against a Braves team that was not nearly as potent offensively as they are now. This season, he's allowed just four home runs in total. He's gone from allowing 1.9 home runs per nine to 0.8 home runs per nine. He's slashed a 5.5 percent home run rate down to 2.1 percent.

Imanaga will face his toughest task on Wednesday, though, as the Braves lead the National League and rank second in the majors with 57 home runs. From Olson to Drake Baldwin to Ozzie Albies to Austin Riley, their entire lineup is full of players who can go yard at any moment.

With how close these games project to be, the last thing Imanaga can afford to do is allow a back-breaking home run. It'll be interesting to see if his improvements hold up against such a dynamic slugging offense.

How will depth starters fare against elite offenses?

Imanaga and Chris Sale aside, the Braves and Cubs will each send two starters who should be considered as depth starters more than frontline options to the mound in this series. For the Braves, they'll have Grant Holmes and JR Ritchie starting the first two games of the series, while the Cubs have Colin Rea and Ben Brown starting the first and third game, respectively.

For Atlanta, both Holmes and Ritchie have a lot to prove. Holmes has allowed three runs or fewer in six of his seven starts this season but struggled his last time out on May 1 and then had his next start skipped. As for Ritchie, he's posted a solid 3.63 ERA in his first three career starts, but he's also walked 12 batters and allowed four home runs in 17.1 innings pitched, leading to a 6.87 FIP. How will they do against a Cubs offense that has thrived?

As for Chicago, they'll turn to two starters who began the year in the bullpen in Rea and Brown. Rea has been a fixture in the rotation for a month now, and he's been mostly effective, but it's worth noting he allowed six runs in 3.1 innings against the Dodgers. The Braves' offense has been even more dominant than Los Angeles'. Brown has pitched extremely well in the bullpen, but he just made his first start of the season his last time out. He threw four scoreless innings in that game in Seattle, but threw only 46 pitches. He isn't fully stretched out, so it'll be interesting to see how he does.

It's easy to expect brilliance from Sale and even Imanaga, but the winner of this series could come down to how the other starters perform for both sides.

Can the Cubs beat the Braves’ indestructible bullpen?

While the Cubs' bullpen is badly beaten with injuries and inconsistency, the Braves' bullpen has been nothing short of stellar. Atlanta leads the National League with a 3.31 bullpen ERA, and the back end of its bullpen is even better than that. Just look at how the Braves' three best relievers have done.

This trio has combined to allow a total of three runs in 46.1 innings of work, striking out 43 batters, issuing six walks and allowing no home runs. They've converted 10 saves and racked up 10 holds while blowing a total of one save opportunity. The Braves' bullpen as a whole has just three blown saves, tied for the fewest in the National League.

The Cubs have made a habit, particularly of late, of stealing games late against bullpens. They walked off the Cincinnati Reds' bullpen three straight times in their last homestand. Rallying against this Braves bullpen is tough, though, so it'll be interesting to see if the Cubs can maintain their late-game magic.

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