Williams scheduled to start as Chicago hosts Washington

Washington Nationals (17-22, fifth in the NL East) vs. Chicago Cubs (21-21, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Thursday, 2:20 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Joe Ross (2-3, 5.80 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 33 strikeouts) Cubs: Trevor Williams (2-2, 6.27 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, 37 strikeouts)

LINE: Cubs -126, Nationals +109; over/under is even

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals head to play the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

The Cubs are 15-9 on their home turf. Chicago has a team on-base percentage of .318, good for fourth in the National League. Kris Bryant leads the club with a mark of .398.

The Nationals have gone 8-12 away from home. 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 an average of .327.

The Nationals won the last meeting 4-3. Max Scherzer earned his fourth victory and Juan Soto went 3-for-5 with a home run and an RBI for Washington. Jake Arrieta took his fourth loss for Chicago.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bryant leads the Cubs with 24 extra base hits and is batting .308.

Turner leads the Nationals with 10 home runs and is slugging .566.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 5-5, .274 batting average, 3.09 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs

Nationals: 4-6, .267 batting average, 4.33 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

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

Nationals: Stephen Strasburg: (right shoulder), Tanner Rainey: (undisclosed), Erick Fedde: (undisclosed), Luis Avilan: (elbow).

------

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