Nationals face the Cubs with 2-1 series lead
Chicago Cubs (15-15, third in the NL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (12-18, fifth in the NL East)
Washington; Thursday, 1:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Jameson Taillon (0-0); Nationals: Patrick Corbin (1-4, 5.74 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 21 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cubs -219, Nationals +181; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals host the Chicago Cubs with a 2-1 series lead.
Washington has gone 5-12 at home and 12-18 overall. The Nationals are 10-3 in games when they out-hit their opponents.
Chicago has a 7-7 record on the road and a 15-15 record overall. The Cubs rank eighth in the majors with 40 total home runs, averaging 1.3 per game.
The teams match up Thursday for the fourth time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jeimer Candelario leads Washington with four home runs while slugging .388. Dominic Smith is 11-for-39 with a home run and an RBI over the past 10 games.
Nico Hoerner has five doubles, a triple, two home runs and 17 RBI for the Cubs. Cody Bellinger is 11-for-36 with three doubles, a triple, four home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 5-5, .248 batting average, 4.50 ERA, outscored by eight runs
Cubs: 3-7, .248 batting average, 3.60 ERA, even run differential
INJURIES: Nationals: Chad Kuhl: 15-Day IL (foot), Corey Dickerson: 10-Day IL (calf), Israel Pineda: 10-Day IL (finger), Stephen Strasburg: 60-Day IL (ribs/shoulder), Tanner Rainey: 60-Day IL (elbow), Victor Arano: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Cade Cavalli: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carter Kieboom: 10-Day IL (finger)
Cubs: Yan Gomes: 7-Day IL (concussion), Brandon Hughes: 15-Day IL (knee), Jameson Taillon: 15-Day IL (groin), Kyle Hendricks: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Codi Heuer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ethan Roberts: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.