Instant Analysis: Cubs 10, Nats 2

Miles Mikolas' command woes, combined with sloppy defense, put the Nationals in an early hole they couldn't dig out of at Wrigley Field

Photo by Tessa Sumagui / ALL-PRO REELS

CHICAGO – On the heels of an inspired Opening Day performance, the Nationals returned to Wrigley Field this afternoon hoping to keep those good vibes rolling. They didn’t last long. The Cubs took advantage of Miles Mikolas’ lack of command and the Nats’ lack of clean defense to jump out to a quick 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second and never looked back during a blowout at the Friendly Confines.

Mikolas lasted five innings, but he needed 97 pitches to get there. The relievers who followed didn’t help keep the game within reach. Andre Granillo was charged with two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Ken Waldichuk gave up a three-run homer to Ian Happ on his very first pitch as a National and then didn’t retire any of the next four batters he faced, leading to another four-spot in the seventh.

The Nats lineup, meanwhile, put up little fight against Cade Horton, who needed only 28 pitches to retire the first nine batters he faced. James Wood did connect for his first homer of the season, and Brady House and Nasim Nunez combined to produce another run in the fifth. But that was the extent of the offensive output from the visitors today, who now will need to win Sunday’s series finale if they want to leave town with a winning record.

HITTING HIGHLIGHT: There weren’t many to choose from today, but anytime Wood homers, it’s a noteworthy event. All the more so when you consider Wood’s season batting line when he stepped to the plate in the top of the fourth: 0-for-6, five strikeouts. And when he fell behind in the count 0-2, the table was set for another strikeout. Then Horton left a fastball right over the plate and Wood absolutely crushed it. Exit velocity: 110 mph. Launch angle: 18 degrees. Time elapsed before it cleared the fence in left field: 0.000001 sec. No, that one swing didn’t totally fix Wood, who didn’t look good this spring and certainly didn’t look good on Opening Day. But it was a reminder how he’s always a threat to do something like that, no matter the quality of his recent at-bats.

PITCHING LOWLIGHT: This always looked like a disadvantageous matchup for the Nationals, given Mikolas’ well-know struggles at Wrigley Field. The irony of this start: He wasn’t really beaten by the home run, serving up just one solo shot to Miguel Amaya. This was more death by paper cut than big blow, with the Cubs totaling six hits and three walks over five innings. The walks really cost Mikolas; all three batters wound up scoring. Yes, he was hurt by sloppy defense during a four-run second inning. But two of the runs that scored that inning got on base via walk. In the end, this was what we may come to expect from Mikolas every five days.

DEFENSIVE LOWLIGHT: The bottom of the second featured several of them, but the lowest of the lows cost the Nats two runs. With two out, two on and two runs already in, Michael Busch lofted a fairly routine flyball to shallow left field. Nuñez, playing shortstop, went back on the ball as Daylen Lile, playing left field, came in. Either could’ve caught it. Neither did. Instead, the two collided as the ball fell to the ground and two runs scored. Originally scored as an error on Lile, it was later changed to an error on Nuñez (who did pull off an incredible play later in the game). Either way, this was a play that needed to be made, and it dearly cost the Nationals.

NOTABLE: Pete Crow-Armstrong is now 8-for-11 with five homers and a walk in his career against Mikolas.

UP NEXT: The opening series wraps up Sunday at 2:20 p.m. when Jake Irvin takes the mound against Cubs left-hander Shoto Imanaga. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM