The Cubs faced tonight’s Nats starter Josiah Gray last week, and he held them to just 2 earned runs over 6.1 IP with no walks and 5 strikeouts. They also faced Joey Meneses, the Nats apparent slugger, who hit a home run in each of the three games at Wrigley Field. He finished the series 5-8, with 5 RBI and a walk.
One guy the Cubs didn’t face in the last Nats series was CJ Abrams, the top prospect acquired by the Nats from the Padres in the Juan Soto trade. Abrams was promoted ahead of tonight’s game, though this won’t actually be his MLB debut.
And finally, as we discussed earlier, Marcus Stroman had been on a bit of a roll lately, before running into a mediocre outing against the Nationals (4 earned runs over 5.0 IP). But even accounting for that start, he’s got a 2.53 ERA since returning from the IL over a month ago and seems to finally be relatively locked in on the mound.
Hopefully, he figured out what didn’t work and is ready to bounce back tonight in D.C., where he’s made only one start previously in his career. Go Cubs.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (47-66) at Washington Nationals (47-66) – Sunday, August 15 at 6:05 CT on MARQ, 670 The Score
Starting Pitchers
Nationals: Josiah Gry, RHP
Cubs: Marcus Stroman, RHP
Chicago Cubs (Lineup Discussion):
- Nick Madrigal, 2B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Ian Happ, LF
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Franmil Reyes, DH
- Nico Hoerner, SS
- Zach McKinstry, 3B
- Patrick Wisdom, 1B
- Chris Morel, CF
Washington Nationals:
- Cesar Hernandez, 2B
- Joey Meneses, RF
- Luke Voit, 1B
- Yadiel Hernandez, LF
- Nelson Cruz, DH
- Keibert Ruiz, C
- Lane Thomas, CF
- Ildemaro Vargas, 3B