Nationals play the Cubs leading series 1-0

Chicago Cubs (47-67, third in the NL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (39-78, fifth in the NL East)

Washington; Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Justin Steele (4-7, 3.63 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 106 strikeouts); Nationals: Patrick Corbin (4-16, 7.02 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, 102 strikeouts)

LINE: Cubs -161, Nationals +136; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals host the Chicago Cubs with a 1-0 series lead.

Washington has a 39-78 record overall and a 19-42 record at home. The Nationals have gone 27-8 in games when they scored at least five runs.

Chicago is 47-67 overall and 23-33 in road games. The Cubs have a 33-15 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents.

Tuesday's game is the fifth time these teams match up this season. The season series is tied 2-2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Cesar Hernandez has a .243 batting average to rank 12th on the Nationals, and has 23 doubles and three triples. Joey Meneses is 14-for-31 with four home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.

Ian Happ has 30 doubles, two triples and 12 home runs while hitting .282 for the Cubs. Willson Contreras is 7-for-33 with two home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 3-7, .249 batting average, 6.56 ERA, outscored by 36 runs

Cubs: 6-4, .266 batting average, 2.86 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Luis Garcia: 10-Day IL (groin), Erick Fedde: 15-Day IL (shoulder), MacKenzie Gore: 15-Day IL (elbow), Evan Lee: 60-Day IL (flexor), Stephen Strasburg: 60-Day IL (ribs), Tanner Rainey: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jackson Tetreault: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Carter Kieboom: 60-Day IL (forearm), Sean Doolittle: 60-Day IL (elbow), Will Harris: 60-Day IL (pectoral), Seth Romero: 60-Day IL (calf), Joe Ross: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Cubs: Michael Hermosillo: 60-Day IL (quadricep), Steven Brault: 10-Day IL (covid), Kyle Hendricks: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Mills: 15-Day IL (back), Jason Heyward: 10-Day IL (knee), Wade Miley: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ethan Roberts: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Codi Heuer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brad Wieck: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.