Cubs’ losing streak hits four as Nico Hoerner misplay backfires

A rare fielding misread by Nico Hoerner helped swing the eighth inning, as the Cubs fell 4-1 to the Braves.

ATLANTA — The Cubs entered Wednesday’s game with confidence, only to have a single misplayed moment turn into a full-scale swing in the eighth.

With Chicago and Atlanta tied at a run apiece. Nico Hoerner faced a slow roller off the base line and decided that improvising was his best route to an out.. Michael Harris II was sprinting down the line. and Hoerner attempted to shovel the ball underhand with his glove to first baseman Michael Busch.. In a play that quickly shifted from “oh. wow” to “oh. no. ” the ball went over Busch’s head. allowing Harris to reach safely and giving the Braves the momentum they would not surrender.

That turning point effectively set up the rest of the inning.. After starter Shota Imanaga was taken out, the Cubs bullpen struggled to keep the game locked in place.. Phil Maton. coming on as a reliever. surrendered two key swings: one curveball that Mike Yastrzemski turned into a tiebreaking double. and another that Mauricio Dubon drove for a two-run home run.. The Braves went on to win 4-1.

In the final frame. Raisel Iglesias closed things out for his eighth save. finishing off a Cubs offense that was largely unable to generate sustained opportunities during the night.. The result carried a wider milestone for Atlanta: the Braves became the first team in Major League Baseball to reach 30 victories.

For the Cubs, the loss added up quickly beyond the final score.. It marked their first four-game losing streak of the 2026 season, during which they have scored a total of three runs.. The dip in production has come alongside stingy run prevention from Atlanta’s bullpen; in the two days of this skid. the Braves’ relievers have limited Chicago to two singles in 10 scoreless innings.

The game also carried a complicated personal edge for Hoerner.. Chicago’s manager. Craig Counsell. praised the overall quality of the defense he saw on both sides. framing the play as difficult but ultimately costly.. Hoerner. for his part. acknowledged that the timing of the attempt was wrong and that. looking back. he believes there was time to transfer the ball to his throwing hand for an easier. more conventional out.

Hoerner described the sting as the reality of an error that immediately fed into the game-winning run.. The official scorer credited Harris with a hit, and the loss was charged to Imanaga despite an otherwise impressive outing.. Imanaga set the tone early. retiring Atlanta in order in five of his seven-plus innings. allowing only five hits and not issuing any walks.. His rough patch came late in the process, culminating in a home run by Drake Baldwin in the fourth.

That Baldwin blast was not the kind of pitch most hitters can wait on.. It came from an out-of-the-zone slider that Baldwin had to reach for. but he still generated enough leverage to send it 402 feet over the center-field wall.. Even with the overall control he showed. Imanaga pushed back on the idea that the start should be described as “wonderful. ” saying the outing would have left the Cubs with a stronger chance if he had kept the damage to zero.

The Braves’ ability to convert on high-leverage moments contrasted with Chicago’s limited offensive output during the same span.. Alex Bregman homered in the fourth inning at Truist Park. and the Cubs added a run in that inning as well. but that was their only hit of the night.. In the eighth, the game swung more due to pitching leverage and defensive mishap than sustained hitting.

Meanwhile, Chicago looked ahead to the kind of roster flexibility teams use when a bullpen needs depth.. The Cubs are taking a flier on reliever Liam Hendriks, according to Counsell.. Hendriks. 37. spent two seasons with the White Sox. winning over fans first as an All-Star closer from 2021 to 2022. and later through a highly public. successful battle with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The Cubs signed Hendriks to a minor-league deal and. at least initially. plan to send him to their facility in Mesa. Arizona.. Counsell said the expectation is that he would eventually work his way to Triple-A Iowa. while the immediate role is essentially bullpen depth.. For Chicago. the move is framed as an opportunity to bring in someone with a track record of success and see how quickly he can contribute.

Outside the on-field results, the organization also marked a connection to baseball history around the time of the game.. Almost 59 years after former manager Turner named himself manager. and six days after he died at age 87. Counsell offered a figurative tip of the cap to “Captain Outrageous. ” reflecting how the club viewed the moment even amid a difficult stretch.

Cubs Braves Nico Hoerner Shota Imanaga Liam Hendriks MLB scoreboard Craig Counsell Chicago sports