The Chicago Cubs (70-66) travel to face off against the Washington Nationals (61-75) on Sunday, September 1st. This game will be played at Nationals Park in Washington and televised on MASN. The Cubs are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Nationals are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Cubs. First pitch is set for 12:35 CT.

Cubs vs. Nationals Betting Prediction

• Money Line Prediction: Nationals (+109)
• Over/Under Prediction: Over 9 Runs

• The Nationals have won 4 of their last 5 home games.
• In the last 15 games, the Nationals have scored 5 or more runs in 8 games.
• The Nationals have a 5-5 record in their last 10 games, showing competitive form.
• In their last series against the Yankees, the Nationals won 2 out of 3 games at home.
• The Cubs have a 34-37 away record, indicating struggles on the road.

Cubs vs Nationals

Chicago picked up a 5-3 road win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a big 5th inning, scoring four of their five runs. As for the Nationals, they scored their final run in the 4th. Heading into the game, the Cubs were favored at -112 on the money line.

Javier Assad started for the Cubs and picked up the win, going six innings and giving up three earned runs. He finished the game with just four strikeouts but induced 11 ground ball outs. Porter Hodge got the save. DJ Herz had a rough outing for the Nationals, taking the loss after going just 4 2/3 innings and giving up four earned runs.

Nico Hoerner scored twice for the Cubs while going 2/4 with an RBI. Andrés Chaparro hit the game’s only home run while going 1/4 with three RBIs.

Chicago has been a strong road favorite this season, with a 13-10 record in that role. Overall, the Cubs are 34-37 on the road and 36-29 at home. Their average run differential is +0.3 runs per game, but it increases to +0.5 at home and drops to +0.1 on the road.

The Cubs are on a five-game winning streak and are 70-66 overall this season. They are in 2nd place in the NL Central, 10 games behind the Brewers. When the over/under line is set at 9 runs, their O/U record is 5-12-3, and only 13.2% of their games this season have had O/U lines of 9 runs or higher.

Jordan Wicks Gets The Start For The Cubs

Left-hander Jordan Wicks gets the start for the Cubs today as he faces the Nationals on the road. He has made six starts this season and has a record of 1-2 with an ERA of 4.18. Wicks’ WHIP for the season is 1.46, and opponents are batting .258 off him this year. In his last outing, Wicks went just 1 2/3 innings, giving up two hits and two walks. He didn’t give up a run in the outing. Wicks has made one quality start this year and is averaging 10.29 strikeouts per nine innings.

Cubs Offense Breakdown

Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ have been the Cubs’ top power threats this season, with Suzuki hitting 19 homers and Happ leading the team with 76 RBIs and 23 homers. Suzuki is batting .274, while Happ is hitting just .241. Happ is currently on a seven-game hitting streak. Nico Hoerner is also swinging a hot bat right now, as he is on a seven-game hitting streak and is batting .258 for the season.

Chicago is averaging 4.5 runs per game and has been a better offensive team on the road (4.9 runs per game) than at home (4.1 runs per game). As a team, they are batting just .239, which is 13th in the league, and are 17th in home runs. The Cubs come into the game as the league’s 14th ranked scoring offense.

Washington is 61-75 overall and 19 games behind in the NL East. They are 18-20 in divisional games this season and trail the Cubs 2-0 in the current series. The Nationals’ series record this season is 18-22-3.

Against the run line, the Nationals are 37-31 at home and 77-59 overall. Their games have averaged 8.9 runs, and their O/U record is 65-66. The O/U line for today’s game is set at 9 runs, which is higher than usual, as only 16.2% of their games have had higher O/U lines.

Mitchell Parker Gets The Start For The Nationals

Mitchell Parker gets the start for the Nationals today and will be looking to bounce back from his last outing, where he took the loss. Against the Yankees, he gave up two earned runs in four innings of work. Looking back further, Parker has allowed at least two earned runs in each of his last three outings. Parker’s ERA for the season is 4.26, along with a record of 7-8. Out of his 24 starts, he has turned in nine quality starts and is averaging 7.74 strikeouts per nine innings. For the year, he has allowed 17 home runs.

Nationals Offense Breakdown

Washington’s offense comes into today’s game averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 21st in the league. They have been a bit below average in terms of home runs and have the 10th best team batting average in the league. Luis Garcia Jr. and CJ Abrams have been the team’s top power hitters this season, with Garcia Jr. leading the team with 63 RBIs and Abrams having 18 homers.

Jacob Young has been red hot of late for the Nationals, going 11/27 in his last eight games. During this stretch, he has scored six runs. Andres Chaparro and Dylan Crews have also been swinging the bat well, with each of them hitting two homers in their last eight and five games, respectively.

Cubs vs Nationals Prediction

Our prediction for this Cubs vs. Nationals matchup is to take the Nationals on the money line, where they are currently sitting at +109. We have the Nationals winning this one by a final score of 6-5.

Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Jordan Wicks finishing with seven strikeouts compared to Mitchell Parker with five. However, Parker is projected to finish with an ERA of 11th among starters, while Wicks is down at 19th.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.