MLB

Washington Nationals at Chicago Cubs

· Major League Baseball
Washington Nationals
68-85, 32-46 Away
Final
6 - 7
Chicago Cubs
78-75, 40-35 Home

Cody Bellinger knocks in 3 as Cubs beat Nationals 7-6 to stave off postseason elimination

Joey Gallo hit a three-run home run for Washington, which has dropped four straight.

The Cubs trailed 6-5 after Gallo’s shot in the sixth off reliever Drew Smyly, but took the lead for good with a two-run seventh. Bellinger singled in the tying run and Isaac Paredes came up next to tag reliever Robert Garcia (3-6) with an RBI groundout.

Dansby Swanson added three hits and scored four times for Chicago, which remained seven games out of the final NL wild card berth with nine to play after New York and Arizona won earlier Thursday.

Bellinger said the Cubs aren’t worried about their postseason hopes dying as early as this weekend.

“You still want to get the job done and make plays for your pitcher,” he said.

Ethan Roberts (1-0), the third of five Cubs relievers, got his first career win and Porter Hodge worked the ninth for his sixth save.

“Top of the lineup did a heck of a job, for sure,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after his first four hitters accounted for 10 hits and five RBI.

The teams swapped runs in the first inning before trading two-run frames in the third. In Chicago's half of the third, Suzuki hit his 21st home run of the season, a two-run shot off starter Patrick Corbin.

“I’m seeing the ball well,” Suzuki said through a translator after extending his hitting streak to 10 games. “I feel like I can get a little more aggressive.”

Chicago added two more runs to make it 5-3 before Gallo connected off Drew Smyly in the sixth to give the Nationals a brief 6-5 lead.

CJ Abrams had four hits and scored twice while rookie Darren Baker added three hits and scored a run for Washington.

“We swung the bats well, I thought we ran the bases well,” Washington manager Dave Martinez. “Keep swinging the bats like that and we’ll be fine.”

Chicago starter Javier Assad allowed seven hits, three runs and a walk while striking out five in the first five innings.

Corbin surrendered eight hits and five runs with a walk while striking out four in 4 1/3 innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: OF Jacob Young left with shoulder soreness after getting caught stealing in the second. He’ll be evaluated further on Friday. … Catcher Keibert Ruiz took an Isaac Paredes foul ball to his groin in the third but remained behind the plate after a once-over from the training staff.

Cubs: Paredes appeared to have his left hand bent back in the third when James Wood slid into third base, but he stayed in the game and made the ensuing play in the field.

UP NEXT

The series continues Friday afternoon when Washington’s Trevor Williams (5-0, 2.22 ERA) makes his first start since May 30 against fellow RHP Jameson Taillon (10-8, 3.54).

How can I watch Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs?
  • TV Channel: Nationals at Cubs 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Cubs: 73.1%
Nationals: 26.9%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Chaparro flied out to left.
9th Inning Wood stole second.
9th Inning Wood walked.
9th Inning Crews flied out to center, Abrams to third.
9th Inning Abrams doubled to center.
9th Inning Gallo grounded out to second.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/chc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHC
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
14 Ground Balls 13
8 Strikeouts 6
6 Runs Batted In 7
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
13 Hits 12
4 Stolen Bases 1
3 Walks 1
0 Catcher Interference 0
6 Runs 7
1 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 1
37 At Bats 35
1 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
18 Runners Left On Base 16
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
4 Doubles 0
15 Fly Balls 17
2 Caught Stealing 0
168 Pitches 137
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 1
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 1
20 Total Bases 15
40 Plate Appearances 37
162.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
5 Extra Base Hits 1
7.3 Runs Created 5.6
.351 Batting Average .343
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.541 Slugging Percentage .429
.324 Secondary Average .143
.400 On Base Percentage .351
.941 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .780
0.9 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.8
7.3 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 6.3
52.0 Batter Rating 44.0
37.0 At Bats Per Home Run 35.0
0.67 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
4.20 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.70
.189 Isolated Power .086
0.38 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.17
.075 Walks Per Plate Appearance .027
-.027 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.200
12.0 Runs Produced 14.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.6 Patience Ratio 0.4
0.4 Balls In Play Average 0.4
97.3 MLB Rating 93.5
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Wrigley Field

Location: Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 31,479 | Capacity:

2024 National League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Philadelphia 95 67 .586 - W1
Atlanta 89 73 .549 6 W1
New York 89 73 .549 6 L1
Washington 71 91 .438 24 L1
Miami 62 100 .383 33 W4

2024 National League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Milwaukee 93 69 .574 - L1
St. Louis 83 79 .512 10 W1
Chicago 83 79 .512 10 L1
Cincinnati 77 85 .475 16 W1
Pittsburgh 76 86 .469 17 L1
Full Standings