Game 121: Cubs at Nats
The Nationals look to keep their winning streak going when Jake Irvin takes the mound against Chicago
The Nationals just swept their first three-game series since April. And they’re about to play the Cubs for the first time since March. Have we just turned back time to the start of the season? And if so, what’s next, the return of MVP candidate Joey Wiemer? (Uh, check that. Wiemer now plays for the White Sox.)
Just a little bit has happened since the Nats and Cubs met at Wrigley Field back on Opening Day. Chicago has turned into one of the NL’s best teams, though not good enough to catch the Brewers for first place in the NL Central, leaving them merely in comfortable wild-card position. The Nationals have experienced all the ups and downs and now enter this series having won three in row over Cincinnati to get back to within two games of the .500 mark.
Jake Irvin gets the ball for tonight’s series opener. He started Game 3 of that late-March series in Chicago and got the win with five innings of two-run ball that included back-to-back homers by Alex Bregman and Ian Happ and not much else surrendered.
The Cubs counter with Shoto Imanaga, who started that game opposite Irvin and allowed a three-run homer to the aforementioned Wiemer in the top of the first before staying out of further trouble through five innings of work. Blake Butera will be using his right-handed-heavy lineup against the left-handed Imanaga.
Couple of pregame notes to share:
* James Wood began playing catch over the weekend and began taking dry swings today, but he almost certainly won’t be activated off the 10-day IL when eligible to return Friday. Butera did say it’s possible Wood won’t need to go on a rehab assignment if he makes enough progress the next few days, so it does continue to sound like this won’t be a long IL stint.
* Butera also mentioned the club might start stretching Brad Lord out more, allowing for the possibility the right-hander could return to a starting role (or longer bulk relief) at some point. Lord threw 51 pitches over 2 2/3 innings Sunday as the first pitcher in a bullpen game, and the Nationals seem to like the idea of using him in that role more.
CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Chance of storms, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph out to right
CUBS
CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
RF Seiya Suzuki
1B Michael Busch
3B Alex Bregman
LF Ian Happ
2B Nico Hoerner
DH Michael Conforto
C Carson Kelly
SS Dansby Swanson
LHP Shoto Imanaga
NATIONALS
RF Dylan Crews
1B Andrés Chaparro
3B Brady House
SS CJ Abrams
C Harry Ford
CF Jacob Young
DH Daylen Lile
2B Nasim Nuñez
LF Andrew Pinckney
RHP Jake Irvin
Elsewhere: Jarlin Susana made his long-awaited rehab debut after last summer's torn lat injury, tossing 2 innings of scoreless ball for Single-A Wilmington, walking 2, striking out 2 and throwing 14-of-28 pitches for strikes.
It took a while longer than expected after a 46-game stretch with only 1 homer, but Jacob Young has reached the 10-homer plateau for the first time in his career. Nats lead 3-1 in the 2nd.