Bleacher Nation Drinks : Raise a glass with us! Join the community celebrating timeless traditions and refreshing flavors. Cheers to great times and beer!
CUBS VS NATIONALS — The Cubs swept the Pirates (hooray!) … but moved up only a half-game in the standings from before the last series (boo!). I guess they’ll just have to sweep the Nationals, too.
To that end, I’ll note that this weekend, the Cubs have drawn two left-handed Nats starters, DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker, which could work out in the Cubs’ favor if recent history holds true.
wRC+ Leaderboard (vs LHP in the 2nd Half):
- Phillies: 146 wRC+
- Cubs: 138 wRC+
- A’s: 124 wRC+
- Braves: 119 wRC+
- Red Sox: 114 wRC+
For the year, the Cubs (103 wRC+, 15th) are more middle-of-the-pac♉k versus lefties, but this is a pretty different lineup than it was at the start of the season, both in personnel (PCA, Bethancourt) and performance (Happ vs LHP, Amaya, Suzuki, Bellinger, Swanson).
As a matter of f๊act, Happ is actually hitting lefties 🧸better than righties this year (134 wRC+ vs 126 wRC+). Likewise, but without the splits, Suzuki is on a bit of a heater, with eight hits in his last three games and six multi-hit games in his last eight starts. In the second half of the year, Suzuki is slashing .294/.382/.522 (149 wRC+) overall.
Circling back to those lefties, you may recognize the name of tomorrow’s starter, DJ Herz. That’s because he’s the former Cubs prospect traded to the Nationals in the Jeimer Candelario deal last season. Herz has been pretty good for the Nationals, unlocking another level to his game at the big league level since the trade:
On the flip side, Shota Imanaga is starting tonight (following a good start against the Marlins), Javier Assad on Saturday, and Jameson Taillon on Sunday. No Jordan Wicks’ start as of now, despite being scratched from his start in Iowa and otherwise being on track to pitch on normal rest tonight. Maybe he’ll still come back, but pitch out of the pen? Maybe he’ll piggyback off Kyle Hendricks? We’ll see.
As for Taillon, he’s in desperate need of a good, clean outing. He’s allowed four or more earned runs in four straight and five of the last six.
Cubs vs Nationals – Pitching Probables:
Game 1: Cubs vs Nationals – Friday, August 30 at 5:45 pm CT at Nationals Park
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Game 2: Cubs vs Nationals – Saturday, August 31 at 3:05 CT at Nationals Park
Broadcast Info:&n✤bsp;Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The S♔core, WRTO 1200
Game 3: Cubs vs Nationals – Sunday, September 1 at 12:35 CT at Nationals Park
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The Score
Cubs vs Nationals – Key Injuries:
:
:
