MLB

Washington Nationals at Chicago Cubs

· Major League Baseball
Washington Nationals
69-86, 33-47 Away
Final
5 - 1
Chicago Cubs
79-76, 41-36 Home

Gore pitches 7 sparkling innings as the Nationals beat the Cubs 5-1 to stop a 5-game slide

Joey Gallo hit a three-run homer for Washington, which had dropped five in a row. José Tena had three of the Nationals’ 12 hits.

Chicago (79-76) was eliminated from postseason contention when the Mets (86-69) closed out a 6-3 victory over the Phillies later in the day.

Washington (69-86) played without All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams, who was demoted to the minors earlier in the day. Abrams isn’t expected to play for the big league team again this season.

“I just want it to be known, it wasn’t performance-based — it’s an internal issue,” manager Dave Martinez said. “I’m not going to give specifics or talk about specifics because I need to keep these guys and everything on the down low. ... I’m going to support CJ. He’s a big part of our Nats family, and he will be. At this point, for me, it’s the right thing to do.”

Gore (10-12) earned his second straight win. The 25-year-old left-hander was working on a no-hitter before Patrick Wisdom connected for his eighth homer with one out in the seventh inning.

“His tempo was really good today,” Martinez said of Gore. “It looked like he slowed everything down and just was really attacking the strike zone. All of his stuff was electric. He pitched really well today.”

Gallo said Gore has “elite stuff,” and praised the pitcher for his work ethic.

“A lot of guys come to the ballpark, they see it as a job and whatnot, but MacKenzie really loves coming to the ballpark and just playing the game of baseball and being the best that he can be,” Gallo said. “He had little hiccups there in the middle of the year, but (it’s a) long year, and it says a lot for him to be able to get over that and be pitching well here at the end.”

Jose Ferrer got three outs before Kyle Finnegan finished the two-hitter for the Nationals, who improved to 1-5 against the Cubs this year.

Chicago right-hander Kyle Hendricks (4-12) allowed four runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings in what might have been his last home start at Wrigley Field. Hendricks, who helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series, is eligible for free agency after this season.

“Kind of excited just to take a step back, get away from baseball for a minute,” Hendricks said. “Refocus, re-evaluate where I'm at and make my adjustments and really attack this offseason with some motivation. Really got to get better in some areas.”

Ildemaro Vargas drove in Juan Yepez with a sacrifice fly in the second, and Washington broke it open with four runs in the sixth.

The Nationals put their first three batters on, and Keibert Ruiz chased Hendricks with a sacrifice fly. Gallo then greeted Keegan Thompson with his ninth homer, a drive to right that lifted his team to a 5-0 lead.

Gallo, Vargas, Yepez and Luis García Jr. each had two hits.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: 3B Isaac Paredes was scratched because of a left wrist contusion.

UP NEXT

Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (14-3, 3.03 ERA) is slated to take the mound for Sunday’s series finale. RHP Jake Irvin (10-12, 4.07 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Nationals.

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: 54.5%
Nationals: 45.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Wisdom grounded out to shortstop.
9th Inning Swanson to second on fielder's indifference.
9th Inning Bellinger flied out to left.
9th Inning Swanson singled to left.
9th Inning Happ lined out to center.
9th Inning Finnegan relieved Ferrer

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 1
15 Ground Balls 12
8 Strikeouts 9
5 Runs Batted In 1
1 Sacrifice Hit 0
12 Hits 2
0 Stolen Bases 0
2 Walks 3
0 Catcher Interference 0
5 Runs 1
1 Ground Into Double Play 2
2 Sacrifice Flies 0
34 At Bats 27
1 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
15 Runners Left On Base 7
0 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
0 Doubles 0
14 Fly Balls 6
1 Caught Stealing 0
147 Pitches 119
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
15 Total Bases 5
39 Plate Appearances 31
162.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
1 Extra Base Hits 1
5.2 Runs Created -0.1
.353 Batting Average .074
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.441 Slugging Percentage .185
.118 Secondary Average .222
.368 On Base Percentage .194
.810 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .379
1.1 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 2.0
5.2 Runs Created Per 27 Outs -0.1
35.0 Batter Rating 9.0
34.0 At Bats Per Home Run 27.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.77 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.84
.088 Isolated Power .111
0.25 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.33
.051 Walks Per Plate Appearance .097
-.235 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .148
10.0 Runs Produced 2.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.5 Patience Ratio 0.3
0.4 Balls In Play Average 0.1
89.5 MLB Rating 60.5
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Wrigley Field

Location: Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 38,819 | 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