Scherzer scheduled to start for Washington against Chicago

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Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Washington Nationals (16-22, fifth in the NL East) vs. Chicago Cubs (21-20, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Wednesday, 7:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Max Scherzer (3-2, 2.10 ERA, .76 WHIP, 68 strikeouts) Cubs: Jake Arrieta (4-3, 4.10 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 29 strikeouts)

LINE: Cubs +132, Nationals -151; over/under is even

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals head to face the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

The Cubs are 15-8 on their home turf. Chicago has slugged .409, good for third in the National League. Kris Bryant leads the club with a .626 slugging percentage, including 24 extra-base hits and 10 home runs.

The Nationals are 7-12 on the road. The Washington offense has compiled a .253 batting average as a team this season, good for first in the National League. Trea Turner leads the team with a mark of .325.

The Cubs won the last meeting 6-3. Keegan Thompson recorded his second victory and David Bote went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI for Chicago. Will Harris took his first loss for Washington.

TOP PERFORMERS: Javier Baez leads the Cubs with 27 RBI and is batting .259.

Turner leads the Nationals with 22 RBI and is batting .325.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 6-4, .281 batting average, 2.89 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs

Nationals: 3-7, .262 batting average, 4.18 ERA, outscored by one run

INJURIES: Cubs: Rowan Wick: (oblique), Alec Mills: (lower back), Shelby Miller: (back), Trevor Megill: (forearm), Jonathan Holder: (shoulder), Jake Marisnick: (hamstring), Anthony Rizzo: (back), Austin Romine: (left wrist).

Nationals: Stephen Strasburg: (right shoulder), Luis Avilan: (elbow).

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