CHICAGO β A week ago, after the Cubs dropped the opening series to the Nationals, the early-season storyline was forming: Can this rotation hold up? Matthew Boyd got tagged for 6 runs on Opening Day. Shota Imanaga gave up a three-run homer in the first inning of the series finale. Only Cade Horton looked like an ace. The pitching staff was supposed to be a strength. Through three games, it was a question mark.
Three games against the Angels later, those questions have answers. Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and Matthew Boyd combined to allow 1 earned run in 16.1 innings. The Cubs took the series 2-1 β their first series win of 2026 β and sit at 3-3 heading into an off day before a weekend trip to Cleveland. They're back to .500 and the rotation looks like a completely different animal than it did a week ago.
Cabrera Delivered Exactly What They Paid For
We wrote a full preview of what Cabrera's debut meant for the rotation heading into Monday night's opener. The short version: the Cubs traded their top prospect in January to get this arm, spent the spring retooling his pitch mix, and needed him to look the part. He did more than that. Six innings, one hit, zero runs, five strikeouts on just 80 pitches. A Game Score of 74 and a lineup that included Mike Trout β who entered hitting .462 with two homers β held hitless.
The changeup was devastating. The slider was sharp. The spring training experiment of bumping his four-seam fastball usage didn't seem to cause any friction. Cabrera pounded the zone from the first pitch and looked like a guy who'd been wearing a Cubs uniform for years, not hours. If this is the version of Cabrera that shows up every fifth day, the trade looks like a steal β and that's before you consider he's under team control through 2028.
Boyd Answered the Opening Day Questions
This was the start the Cubs needed. Boyd was a different pitcher in Wednesday's 6-2 win β 10 strikeouts in 5.2 innings, just 2 hits allowed, 1 earned run, and total command of the strike zone from the jump. He picked off Zach Neto at first base in the first inning and the Cubs caught Neto stealing shortly after. It was aggressive, assertive pitching from a guy who looked lost in the Opening Day loss when Washington strung together a six-run fourth inning off him.
The difference was night and day. On Opening Day, Boyd couldn't locate and got punished for it β 6 earned runs in 3.2 innings, 7 strikeouts but no control of when and where the pitch ended up. On Wednesday against the Angels, the movement and the command were both there, and the result was his best start as a Cub. The bullpen backed him up too β Hunter Harvey, Caleb Thielbar, and Daniel Palencia combined for 3.1 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts. The pitching staff racked up 16 total strikeouts on the afternoon.
Taillon Was Quietly Solid
Lost in the Tuesday night shutout loss was an encouraging season debut from Taillon, the guy who posted a 22.18 ERA in Cactus League play and became the subject of real rotation-spot anxiety all spring. He gave up zero runs on two hits in 4.2 innings with 3 strikeouts. The walks were a concern β four of them, including an intentional pass to Trout that loaded the bases β and 85 pitches through 4.2 innings isn't efficient. But the zeroes on the scoreboard mattered.
The loss wasn't on Taillon. It was on the offense (4 hits, zero runs, two double plays) and a Phil Maton curveball that Logan O'Hoppe bounced off Bregman's glove for a two-out infield single that scored two runs. That was the entire ballgame. JosΓ© Soriano β who had now thrown 12 scoreless innings to open the year β was simply the better pitcher that night. Getting shut out by him isn't an indictment. It's a tip of the cap.
Hoerner Is the Early-Season MVP
Nico Hoerner signed his extension on Opening Day. Six games later, he looks like the best investment the Cubs have made all year. Hoerner went 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI, and a stolen base in Wednesday's series clincher, capping a week where he's been the Cubs' most consistent hitter from the jump. He's slashing .318/.385/.500 through the first six games of the season β hitting everywhere in the zone, running the bases with intelligence, and anchoring the middle of the lineup while the big bats around him get up to speed.
In a series where Ian Happ's three-game home run streak ended (he went deep in the opener but was held quiet the next two nights), and Alex Bregman's defense at third base created two different scoring plays for the Angels (an infield single off his glove in Game 2, an error in Game 3), Hoerner was the constant. He's the heartbeat of this lineup right now, and the six-year deal the Cubs gave him looks cheaper by the day.
Suzuki Update: Rehab Assignment Coming
The biggest off-field development of the series came Tuesday, when Craig Counsell announced that Seiya Suzuki will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Knoxville starting Friday. Suzuki passed a full battery of physical tests at Wrigley β defensive drills, baserunning, sliding β and Counsell said the team is "in a really good space" with his recovery. The expectation is 3-7 days in Knoxville before Suzuki rejoins the big league club. Most reports point to the April 10 homestand against the Pirates as the target date for his return to the lineup.
The Cubs need him back. Matt Shaw has 2 hits in 11 at-bats filling in at right field, and Michael Conforto is hitless in four games. The lineup has been productive enough to win games β 13 runs in the two wins against the Angels, five different hitters driving in runs in Wednesday's third-inning rally β but adding Suzuki's right-handed power back into the middle of the order changes the ceiling considerably. He hit 32 homers with 103 RBI last year. There's no replacing that from the bench.
The Week in Perspective
The Cubs are 3-3. They're two games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central, tied with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The run differential is +7 β they've scored 29 and allowed 22 β which suggests a team that's been better than its record, dragged down by two clunkers (the Opening Day blowout and Sunday's series loss to the Nats) that obscure the quality of the other four performances.
Through two series, here's what we know: Horton is the ace. Cabrera looks like a legitimate number two. Boyd can still pitch when his mechanics are right. Taillon showed he can hold his own after a rough spring. Imanaga is the one who still needs to prove it β he'll get another shot on the upcoming road trip. Hoerner is the lineup's engine. Happ has the most power. Bregman's bat will come, but the glove at third has been a quiet concern. And Suzuki's return is the single most important development on the horizon.
The Cubs head to Cleveland on Friday for a three-game set against the Guardians, with Horton on the mound for the opener at Progressive Field (3:10 p.m. CT). It'll be the first real road test for a team that's played all six games at Wrigley. Time to find out what this group looks like away from home.