Chicago Cubs Lose Rubber Match to Nationals on Opening Weekend
The Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals played the third and final game of their opening weekend series on Sunday, with the Nationals prevailing by a final score of 6-3. It was a relatively low-scoring affair, considering Washington’s 10-4 victory in the first game and Chicago’s 10-2 win in the second. The Nationals were in control of this one from start to finish, outhitting the Cubs 11-4 and recording a total of 11 strikeouts. Washington starts the season 2-1 after taking the rubber match, while Chicago begins 1-2.
The game got off to an exciting start for the Nationals. In the top of the first inning, Joey Wiemer cranked a three-run homer, his second of the series, driving in Brady House and Daylen Lile. It was a tough opening for Cubs starter Shota Imanaga, giving up three straight hits and as many earned runs in the first inning. The second and third innings were scoreless as the bats on both sides went cold.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Cubs got on the board with back-to-back solo home runs by Alex Bregman and Ian Happ, which were the first two hits given up by Washington pitcher Jake Irvin. Nico Hoerner then got on with a single but would ultimately be stranded on third as Irvin finally made it out of the fourth with Moises Ballesteros’s lineout. In the top of the sixth inning, Chicago started to fall apart on the mound, with three straight walks to open the inning, one by Imanaga and two by reliever Phil Maton. Thankfully for the Cubs, this precarious situation would only lead to one run by Washington on Keibert Ruiz’s sacrifice fly to drive in Lile, before they reached the middle of the sixth.
In the top of the eighth inning, the Nationals added to their lead when Ruiz slammed a two-run homer, making the score 6-2. Bregman added a run for Chicago with his second home run of the day, but the team remained down by three. The Cubs continued to struggle on both offense and defense in the ninth inning, allowing two hits in the top of the inning and failing to put a runner on base in the bottom. Bregman’s homer would be the final score of the game as the Nationals held on for a three-run victory.
The Cubs come away from the weekend with a discouraging start to their season after losing a home series, while the Nationals earn a pair of impressive road wins against a team that won over 90 games last season. Despite Alex Bregman’s strong day, the Cubs’ offense was highly disappointing in this one. The Nationals, on the other hand, played a very well-rounded game on both sides. Coming up this week, the Cubs will remain at home for a three-game series against the Angels beginning Monday, while the Nationals travel to Philadelphia for a divisional series against the Phillies, also three games.
