Anyone that is a Cubs fan can tell you that the first half of the 2017 season was more than just a little disappointing. Fans chomped at the bit to see the defending World Series Champs go on a run and get back to their dominating ways. Unfortunately the first half came and went without even a hint that the 2017 Cubs were going to come to life.

Now here we are 5 games into the second half of the season and the mood has begun to change. After the acquisition of another quality pitcher for the starting rotation, (Jose Quintana) and a fast start, Cubs fans are finally getting a little of what they craved all season long.

The Cubs opened the second half with a 3 game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles and then moved on to Atlanta to see if their pitching and bats could continue this new found excitement. After a close win on Monday over the Braves and their 4th straight win they sent John Lackey to the mound to see if the streak could continue.

The night would begin with many of us wondering if it would ever get going. Twitter notifications had everyone confused as the Cubs Twitter feed posted multiple Tweets with several different start times as the grounds crew put on and took off the tarp several times.

Finally after all the back and forth and tarp on and tarp off tweets, the Cubs and John Lackey would take the field.

On this night it would seem that all the recent success by the starting rotation had become contagious. John Lackey, who has struggled in 2017, would offer up one of his better performances of the season. Lackey would toss 5 innings of solid pitching and pick up his first win in a month. The Cubs would only trail for a moment when Lackey gave up a solo shot to Nick Markakis in the 2nd inning.

Javier Baez would quickly even things up in the third inning when he blasted his 11th home run to left center field to make the score 1–1.

Braves starter Sean Newcomb then struggled with control as he walked Ben Zobrist and Kris Bryant. Anthony rizzo grounded out to advance the runners to 2nd and 3rd which brought the red hot Cubs catcher Willson Contreras to the plate. Contreras would stay red hot by delivering his 13th home run of the season over the center field wall. This pushed the Cubs lead out to a 4–1 lead in the 3rd.

This would be more than enough for the Cubs on Tuesday night as Lackey and the Cubs bull pen shut the Braves down the rest of the way. The Cubs would tack on another run late in the game on a soft grounder from Ben Zobrist with bases loaded that brought one more home.

This was the Cubs 5th straight win and 5–1 win brought the Cubs back to within 2.5 games of the Central Division leading Brewers. While the Cubs are streaking upward the Brewers have been streaking in the wrong direction after losing three straight.

UP NEXT

The Cubs and the Braves won’t get much rest before their series finally on Wednesday. After Tuesday’s game ended around 1 am, the two teams only have around 11 hours until they take the field again. The Cubs and the Braves are scheduled to play a day game today at 12:10pm ET.

On the mound for the Cubs will be Mike Montgomery who is likely to be replaced in the rotation soon when Kyle Hendricks returns. Montgomery will be chasing the Cubs 6th straight win by going head to head with Braves starter R.A. Dickey.

The Cubs will have their hands full against the veteran Knuckleballer who has a 1.09 ERA and allowed no home runs in his last five starts. Willson Contreras will also get the day off for the Cubs as rookie back-up catcher Victor Caratini gets the start.

Tune in as the Cubs try to keep their second half perfection rolling.

For more Cubs news and live tweeting follow us @WrigleyRapport on Twitter. You can also follow Craig House @Craig_House3 where he loves to interact with his fellow Cubs fans.