Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals – Series Preview (August 8-10): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4

The Cubs (43-64) won two of three against the Marlins this weekend after a six-game losing streak, with the return of Willson Contreras to Wrigley Field serving as the high point. Now they welcome the worst team in MLB, the Washington Nationals (36-74), for three games starting Monday.

Washington was bad before they traded Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres, so they are even worse now. That duo was comprised of the best hitters on the team by far and it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone to fill those shoes. Nelson Cruz still lurks in the lineup, but he is a far cry from what he once was.

The Nats pitching has been a complete disaster in 2022 with a 5.26 team ERA and they were just outscored 36-12 in a four-game sweep by the Phillies. They should be able to breathe life into even the weakest opposing offenses.

The Cubs happen to be one of those weak offenses and they could certainly use a pick-me-up after scoring just six total runs against the Marlins. No one is catching the  Nationals in the standings for a better draft position, so the Cubs might as well beat up on this so-called major league baseball team.

Game Time and Broadcast Info

  • Monday, August 8 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee Sports Network.
  • Tuesday, August 9 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee Sports Network.
  • Wednesday, August 10 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee Sports Network.

Starting Pitchers

Date Pitcher Age T ERA W/L FIP K/BB
8/8 Keegan Thompson 27 R 3.48 8-5 3.98 2.68
Anibal Sanchez 38 R 7.65 0-4 7.01 1.67
8/9 Marcus Stroman 31 R 4.00 3-5 3.76 3.78
Paolo Espino 35 R 4.20 0-4 4.96 4.08
8/10 Justin Steele 27 L 3.67 4-7 3.34 2.26
Josiah Gray 24 R 4.92 7-8 5.71 2.65

What to Watch For

  • Willson Contreras has four extra base hits in his last five games.
  • Steele has seen his ERA drop consistently over his last few starts.
  • Nick Madrigal was hitting the ball hard all weekend and will probably get more playing time with Christopher Morel nursing a sore hamstring.
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