Chicago Cubs named possible Los Angeles Dodgers conqueror

The Chicago Cubs pulled off their ninth straight win on Thursday, thumping the Cincinnati Reds 8-3 to sweep their four-game series with the downward-bound division rivals. They also managed to post their fifteenth straight victory at Wrigley Field.

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The team now stands atop the NL Central Division by 3.5 games and shares the best record in all of baseball with the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees.

And they’re doing this with a pitching staff that has been stressed and strained with an unprecedented run of injury misfortune—the latest being Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd, who had to undergo meniscus surgery after a freak injury playing with his children.

But, still, there’s reason for optimism as Chicago’s winning streak continues, despite carrying a starting rotation that’s 40% replacement and a patchwork bullpen at the moment.

Beating down the Dodgers

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There’s so much optimism that the Cubs were named by ESPN as a team that could “take down” the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers.

MLB insider Jesse Rogers believes that, when it comes to position players, the Cubs can not only hang with the back-to-back World Series champs, but they could also outdo them.

Per Rogers:

“The Cubs’ offense can hang with the Dodgers’ bats, especially the further you go down the lineup. That becomes even more true when you include players coming off the bench. Chicago has hitters who can beat you 1 through 9 in its lineup — and its pinch hitters are also OPS’ing over 1.000 for the season. That depth has created waves of offense and dream platoon matchups for manager Craig Counsell.

The two teams are already neck and neck in many offensive categories, but the Cubs are also better equipped to survive injuries around the diamond. If Chicago loses its best player — who is that anyway? — there won’t be a huge drop-off. If the Dodgers lose Ohtani, Katie bar the door.”

And what about the pitching?

Rogers even believes that the Cubs’ banged up pitching staff is not too far behind the Dodgers’ high-profile, big-ticket staff.

If the goal is postseason success, the Cubs would be able to put together a more-than-solid three-man playoff starting rotation with the new and improved Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera, and a returning Boyd or Justin Steele (who are both targeted to return around the All-Star break. They’d also be able to reach for a viable fourth starter with Jameson Taillon or Colin Rea. This is assuming, of course, that the front office doesn’t go out and acquire a front-of-rotation arm at the trade deadline.

When it comes to the bullpen, Rogers points out that both have been putting up similar numbers, but that the Cubs’ closer Daniel Palencia is the best reliever on either team with the Dodgers’ Edwin Diaz on the IL.

Yes, this is all very, very optimistic and it’s making the assumption that the Cubs won’t suffer some significant fall from grace or, more likely, another major injury or two.

But, as things stand right now, the Cubs certainly seem to be a proper match for Los Angeles, even if the face-to-face record stands 2-1 in favor of the Dodgers so far this season. The second half of 2026 should be really interesting as the Cubs’ injured arms begin to come back.

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