Nationals and Cubs meet to decide series winner

Posted August 17, 2022 7:00 am

By The Associated Press

Chicago Cubs (48-67, third in the NL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (39-79, fifth in the NL East)

Washington; Wednesday, 1:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Drew Smyly (5-6, 3.69 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 61 strikeouts); Nationals: Cory Abbott (0-2, 5.94 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 16 strikeouts)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cubs -150, Nationals +128; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Both the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs are looking for a series win with a victory on Wednesday.

Washington has a 19-43 record in home games and a 39-79 record overall. The Nationals have a 28-63 record in games when they have allowed at least one home run.

Chicago is 48-67 overall and 24-33 on the road. Cubs hitters have a collective .318 on-base percentage, the 10th-best percentage in MLB play.

Wednesday's game is the sixth time these teams square off this season. The Cubs have a 3-2 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Luke Voit leads the Nationals with 34 extra base hits (18 doubles and 16 home runs). Joey Meneses is 14-for-34 with four home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.

Willson Contreras has 21 doubles, two triples, 17 home runs and 46 RBI while hitting .247 for the Cubs. Nico Hoerner is 16-for-38 with four doubles and a home run over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 3-7, .267 batting average, 6.14 ERA, outscored by 33 runs

Cubs: 6-4, .275 batting average, 3.00 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Luis Garcia: 10-Day IL (groin), Erick Fedde: 15-Day IL (shoulder), MacKenzie Gore: 15-Day IL (elbow), Evan Lee: 60-Day IL (flexor), Stephen Strasburg: 60-Day IL (ribs), Tanner Rainey: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jackson Tetreault: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Carter Kieboom: 60-Day IL (forearm), Sean Doolittle: 60-Day IL (elbow), Will Harris: 60-Day IL (pectoral), Seth Romero: 60-Day IL (calf), Joe Ross: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Cubs: Michael Hermosillo: 60-Day IL (quadricep), Steven Brault: 10-Day IL (covid), Kyle Hendricks: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Mills: 15-Day IL (back), Jason Heyward: 10-Day IL (knee), Wade Miley: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ethan Roberts: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Codi Heuer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brad Wieck: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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