Game 123: Cubs at Nats
The Nationals will need Cade Cavalli to continue his run of quality starts if they want to avoid a series sweep against Chicago
If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it seems pretty clear the Nationals as currently constructed aren’t good enough to hang with the NL’s best opposition (ie. the Braves, Phillies and now Cubs) but are still good enough to beat comparable or worse clubs (ie. the Reds). The good news: Their next 17 games all come against opponents who are comparable (Rangers, Marlins) or worse (Mets, Rockies).
Before that, though, is one more game with the Cubs this afternoon, with the Nats hoping to avoid a sweep. They’ve got Cade Cavalli on the mound, and the right-hander continues a run of consistency that shouldn’t be overlooked. He’s delivered six consecutive quality starts, completing exactly six innings every time. Today he’ll face Chicago for the first time since Opening Day at Wrigley, when he labored a bit and lasted only 3 2/3 innings while throwing 75 pitches.
The Nationals have done a pretty nice job at the plate in this series, scoring six runs in each game. That hasn’t been good enough to overcome their pitching woes, but perhaps with Cavalli on the mound it will suffice this time. It’s veteran Kevin Gausman on the mound making his second start for the Cubs following his trade from the Blue Jays. And in a bit of a twist, Blake Butera has several right-handed hitters in the lineup instead of prioritizing platoon matchups.
CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Partly cloudy, 91 degrees, wind 10 mph left to right
CUBS
CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
RF Seiya Suzuki
1B Michael Busch
3B Alex Bregman
LF Ian Happ
2B Pedro Ramirez
SS Dansby Swanson
DH Michael Conforto
C Miguel Amaya
RHP Kevin Gausman
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
1B Abimelec Ortiz
RF Dylan Crews
LF Daylen Lile
3B Brady House
2B Jorbit Vivas
DH Andrés Chaparro
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Andrew Pinckney
RHP Cade Cavalli
It's suddenly 5-0 Nats thanks to Abimelec Ortiz's three-run homer. It's still a small (but growing) sample size, but he's now batting .345 with a 1.160 OPS.
The Nats have a hit. And a run. Abimelec Ortiz lined a clean single to right with one out in the fourth to become the game's first baserunner. Then he chugged all the way around to score on Dylan Crews' line-drive double to left-center for a 1-0 lead.