Chicago Cubs @ Washington Nationals – Series Preview (May 1-4): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (14-13) ended the month of April with a winning record, but the calendar turned on a sour note with the North Siders being swept by the Marlins in Miami. The series featured three one-run losses and numerous runners stranded in scoring position. Chicago now moves on to the second half of their East Coast road trip with four games against the lowly Nationals.
Washington (10-17) is at the nadir of their rebuilding project with a roster almost devoid of talented veteran players. The offense is very bad with a .670 team OPS, the fourth worst in baseball, and a mere 15 total home runs through 27 games. WBC star Joey Meneses and former Cub Jeimer Candelario are probably the main threats in the lineup.
The Nats pitching is not great but their 4.59 ERA is closer to the middle of the pack than it is to worst. MacKenzie Gore and Josiah Gray have been good in the rotation that also features Trevor Williams. Old friend Carl Edwards Jr. is off to an excellent start with a 1.74 ERA through 11 appearances so far this season, though he’s working on a career-worst 1.33 K/B ratio.
It goes without saying that Chicago needs to take advantage of bad teams like Washington. They were able to do that against Oakland earlier in the season and they pretty much have to match that feat here to pump up the win column. Almost everyone is hoping for reinforcements to come up from the explosive Iowa Cubs lineup, but it doesn’t appear like they will be up this week.
If David Ross‘s squad can’t win this series, things might get a little dicey with teams like the Phillies, Rays, and Astros on the schedule in May. Here’s hoping the Cubs have a capital time in DC.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Monday, May 1 at 6:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Tuesday, May 2 at 6:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Wednesday, May 3 at 6:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Thursday, May 4 at 12:05pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 5/1 | Drew Smyly | 33 | L | 3.21 | 2-1 | 3.24 | 4.50 |
| MacKenzie Gore | 24 | L | 3.00 | 3-1 | 3.53 | 2.19 | |
| 5/2 | Hayden Wesneski | 25 | R | 5.21 | 2-1 | 6.03 | 1.88 |
| Trevor Williams | 30 | R | 4.10 | 1-1 | 4.87 | 2.83 | |
| 5/3 | Marcus Stroman | 32 | R | 2.29 | 2-2 | 3.81 | 2.54 |
| TBA | |||||||
| 5/4 | TBA | ||||||
| Patrick Corbin | 33 | L | 5.74 | 1-4 | 5.40 | 2.33 |
What to Watch For
- Cody Bellinger crushed two long home runs against the Marlins in his return from paternity leave.
- Trey Mancini reached base five times in Miami.
- The Cubs have not named a starter for Thursday. Javier Assad is a possibility but it’s unclear.
- Stroman had a decent start against the fish despite giving up some pretty hard contact.