BOX SCORE

It was a smooth-sailing Sunday afternoon for the Chicago Cubs, at least until the Los Angeles Angels mounted a couple of late-inning rallies. The Cubs (76-55) ultimately prevailed with a 4-3 win over the Angels (61-69) to secure a three-game sweep and put them a season-high 21 games over .500.

Clutch knocks from Kyle Tucker, Nico Hoerner and Carson Kelly grabbed the lead for the Cubs after they trailed early, and Daniel Palencia‘s 20th save of the season sealed the deal. The Cubs are now 8-2 over their last 10 games after beginning August with a 5-8 record.

Here are three things we learned from the series finale at Angel Stadium:

Familiar face

Kyle Hendricks had faced 29 of 30 MLB teams before Sunday.

The 30th team? The Cubs, whom Hendricks pitched against for the first time in his career after spending his first 11 years in the big leagues with Chicago.

[READ: How Kyle Hendricks fared in first start vs. former Cubs teammates]

This time, wearing a red cap instead of a blue one, Hendricks stood on the mound to take on several of the teammates he played with in his final season with the Cubs.

The output he generated from the Cubs’ offense may have caused conflicting feelings from Cubs fans who watched Hendricks for a decade.

Hendricks was always a pitcher to rely on soft contact — his average exit velocity allowed to hitters in 2025 is 86.4. Per Radar360, the MLB average this season for pitchers is around 88 mph.

In contrast, this Cubs lineup has been scorching the ball since they got to Angel Stadium. One of those examples was Owen Caissie’s 114-mph double on Saturday night.

But on Sunday, Cubs hitters averaged 82.1 mph off the bat against Hendricks. The hardest hit ball off the veteran came courtesy of Matt Shaw’s 97.5-mph double in the third inning.

The Cubs managed five total hits off of Hendricks, scoring two runs while he was on the mound and charging two more to his tally after he exited the game with the bases loaded. His two strikeout victims were none other than Tucker and Seiya Suzuki.

Big time Taillon

Jameson Taillon made his second start since his six-week IL stint kept him sidelined for the entire month of July. He’s joined the Cubs rotation in stride now that August is winding down and a September playoff push is on the horizon.

In Taillon’s return, he put in a crucial performance for the Cubs against divisional rival the Milwaukee Brewers, throwing six innings of one-run ball against MLB’s hottest team as the Cubs took a much-needed win.

The Angels’ lineup doesn’t quite size up to the Brewers, but Taillon looked the same — despite a small hiccup in the first inning when he allowed a solo shot to Taylor Ward to put the Cubs in a deficit for the first time in the series.

But Cubs hitters had Taillon’s back, and the two worked in tandem to ensure Taillon had the insurance he needed to spin another gem.

Taillon made it through five very efficient innings, with the home run remaining the only damage done to him. He allowed three total hits and struck out as many, lowering his ERA back down to 4.15 — the lowest it’s been since June 19.

Unfortunately for Taillon, manager Craig Counsell hooked him after just 62 pitches in favor of reliever Andrew Kittredge, who allowed two runs (on earned) as the Angels came back within a run.

Counsell said after the game, Taillon had some left groin tightness, leading to the early exit.

Still, Taillon’s consistency in his first two starts back is indicative of how good the Cubs’ rotation — which sports an MLB-best 2.81 ERA since July 1 — has been in the back stretch of the season.

Sweep dreams, California

Don’t look now, but the Cubs are starting to play better baseball at the right time.

Sunday’s win marked their first three-game series sweep since they made quick work of the Cleveland Guardians on July 1-3. But that was at home — this sweep was the Cubs’ first on a road trip since all the way back in March when they swept the Athletics at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif.

Things have started to look up for the Cubs since they took three of five games against the surging Brewers this past week. Now, with another Brewers loss on Sunday, the Cubs have shaved that NL Central deficit back down to five games.

Maybe the Cubs really love playing in California — they own a 9-3 record when they play in The Golden State this year. That perhaps bodes well for the next stop on this nine-game road trip, where they will face the San Francisco Giants for the first time since the latter took two of three at Wrigley in mid-May.

The Cubs will have an off day on Monday before heading to San Francisco to face the Giants in a three-game series at Oracle Park.

The opener is slated for 8:45 p.m. CT on Tuesday. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. on Marquee Sports Network.