Kyle Hendricks was at his best last time out against the Padres, who have a quality lineup. The Nationals are probably a touch better – especially that Bryce Harper guy – so hopefully Hendricks repeats his performance. At least he gives them a very different look from Tsuyoshi Wada, who was excellent yesterday.
Jordan Zimmermann figures to be a free agent target for the Cubs next offseason, so you can expect many folks to discuss his start tonight in ways entirely colored by that likelihood (“Zimmermann showed off what the Cubs need as he mowed down the bats … ” or “Zimmermann may prefer to pitch for the Cubs than against them next after they … “). I might even fall victim to it, myself.
Starlin Castro is batting cleanup again, and, while I remain convinced that he’ll straighten things out and become productive again eventually, I’m not sure he should be working it out while batting in such an important slot (behind two of the best OBP guys in baseball).
Game Info
Washington Nationals (27-18) at Chicago Cubs (24-20), 6:05 CT on CSN, ESPN, and MLB.tv.
Game Thread and Series Preview
Your game thread is down there in the comments, so have fun.
The Series Preview lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Jordan Zimmermann (3.52 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 4.08 xFIP; 3.27 K/BB)
versus
Kyle Hendricks (4.14 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 3.77 xFIP; 4.11 K/BB)
Washington Nationals Lineup
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Ian Desmond, SS
3. Yunel Escobar, 3B
4. Bryce Harper, RF
5. Ryan Zimmerman, 1B
6. Wilson Ramos, C
7. Tyler Moore, LF
8. Danny Espinosa, 2B
9. Jordan Zimmermann, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Kris Bryant, 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Starlin Castro, SS
5. Miguel Montero, C
6. Jorge Soler, RF
7. Chris Coghlan, LF
8. Kyle Hendricks, P
9. Addison Russell, 2B