Instant Analysis: Cubs 8, Nats 6

The Cubs beat the Nationals at their own game tonight, wearing down the pitching staff with a relentless approach at the plate

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

The Nationals have won plenty of games this season by wearing down opposing pitching staffs with a relentless offensive approach. Tonight, they got a taste of their own medicine from a Cubs team that’s just as capable of returning the favor.

The Cubs rank second to the Nats in runs scored this season, but they lead the majors in on-base percentage, and they showed off their patience and tenacity tonight in driving up Jake Irvin’s pitch count with consistently long plate appearances. That only led to two runs through three innings, but they kept wearing Irvin down and plated three more runs off him in the fourth, which ended with Tom Cosgrove on the mound.

Chicago added on against the Nationals bullpen, scoring a run off Max Kranick in the fifth, getting an Alex Bregman solo homer off Orlando Ribalta in the sixth and a Seiya Suzuki solo homer off Miles Mikolas (in a rare relief appearance) in the eighth.

The Nats didn’t have a bad night at the plate themselves, scoring four runs off Cubs starter Shoto Imanaga thanks to three long drives. CJ Abrams connected for a two-run homer in the first, his 29th of the season. Jacob Young and Dylan Crews then each recorded his 10th home run of the season, giving the team seven players now in double digits.

But they missed some opportunities to add to that tally, stranding runners in scoring position in both the fifth and sixth. And though they did plate a pair of runs in the eighth thanks to clutch hits by Abrams, Jorbit Vivas and Nasim Nuñez, that only got them to within two runs of a Cubs team that gave itself ample cushion late.

HITTING HIGHLIGHT: It wasn’t enough on a night when the pitching staff labored, but Brady House did his part to help the Nats’ offensive attack. Batting third against the left-handed Imanaga, House went 3-for-3, singling to right in the first, then to left in both the third and fifth innings. He even drew a walk off right-handed reliever Ryan Zeferjahn in the eighth. He’s not necessarily slugging much since his return from Triple-A last month, but he is hitting the ball hard and putting together some quality plate appearances on the rare occasions when he gets to face a righty.

PITCHING LOWLIGHT: Though he retired the side in the top of the first, it was instantly clear Irvin could be in for a long night. Why? Because it required 20 pitches just to retire those three batters. The Cubs established they were going to work the count, fouling off anything they couldn’t handle. And they kept that up throughout his abbreviated start. Irvin wound up throwing 88 pitches in his 3 1/3 innings, not because he gave up a ton of hits or walks (only six combined between the two) but because Chicago’s batters fouled off a whopping 25 of those 88 pitches. Irvin also saw his fastball velocity drop from 95 mph in the first inning to 92 mph in the fourth, an issue that has often plagued him during his career.

NOTABLE: Jarlin Susana made his long-awaited return to the mound tonight in a rehab start for Single-A Wilmington. The flame-throwing 22-year-old, who tore his lat muscle last August, tossed two scoreless innings, walking two, striking out two and throwing only 14 of his 28 pitches for strikes. His fastball did reach 103 mph.

UP NEXT: The Nationals haven’t announced their pitching plans for Wednesday’s 6:45 p.m. game, but left-hander Jackson Kent is expected to be part of it upon getting prompted from Triple-A Rochester for his MLB debut. The Cubs are starting veteran lefty and former Met David Peterson. TV: Nationals TV/FOX 5 RADIO: 106.7 FM