Cubs clip Sale, pocket series behind opportunistic fifth and airtight bullpen
MLB — Cubs 3, Braves 2 — Truist Park, Atlanta
Chicago solved a riddle few have cracked this summer, tagging Chris Sale for three across two frames and then white-knuckling the lead to the handshake line. Carson Kelly started the solve with a solo in the fourth, Justin Turner roped an RBI double, and in the fifth, Nico Hoerner’s single plus aggressive base-running (error, stolen base) set up Seiya Suzuki’s sac fly—what became the winning tally.
Jameson Taillon returned from the IL to cover 4.1 innings (2 ER), then Taylor Rogers (win), two more bridge arms, and Andrew Kittredge (save) stitched the final 14 outs. Hoerner went 3-for-4, Sale fanned nine yet yielded seven hits and those crucial three runs. The series W keeps the Cubs in the driver’s seat of the top NL Wild Card.