September 19 – Unable to prevent the New York Mets from making the playoffs, the Washington Nationals will have a chance to eliminate the Chicago Cubs from the National League Tournament as the clubs begin a four-game series on Thursday night at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs (77-75) lost a disappointing 2-1 home series to the Oakland Athletics, leaving them seven games out of the final NL wild-card spot and 10 games out. They could be eliminated by the end of Friday’s MLB games.
The Nationals (68-84) could have helped the Cubs in a recently concluded three-game set against the New York Mets, but they lost just one game, 2-1, through 10 innings on Monday and then were bombed.
The Nationals will begin their series against the Cubs with their hottest pitcher on the mound. Left-hander Patrick Corbin (6-13, 5.45 ERA) is 4-1 in his last five starts, raising his ERA from 5.92 to 5.45 during that span.
The 35-year-old has spent his career with the Cubs, going 5-2 with a 4.09 ERA in 12 starts, 11 of them starts. Six of those starts came at Wrigley Field, where Corbin went 3-1 with a 5.24 ERA.
Corbin, who has led or tied for first on the NFC losses list in each of the past three seasons, is once again proud of the way his season ended, even though he is on his way to a fourth consecutive title as his 13 losses were the most in the league.
Teammates MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin tied for second with 12 losses each.
“It was frustrating at times,” Corbin said of his Nationals career, during which he compiled a 47-77 record over six seasons. “You go out there and try to do your best, but things don’t go your way. I think I’ve been in a lot better shape (recently) and I’ve been getting a lot more strikeouts, so that helps.”
The Cubs, who may need to sweep the series to stay alive in the NL wild-card race, have scheduled right-hander Javier Asad (7-5, 3.27 ERA) for the series opener.
The 27-year-old has started the last two games for the Cubs, allowing a combined six runs (five earned) in 11 2/3 innings against the New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies.
His most recent win came on August 31 against the Nationals, a 5-3 road victory in which he allowed three runs in six innings. He is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in two career starts with the Wizards.
In the August and September series, the Cubs defeated the Nationals in the nation’s capital by scores of 7-6, 5-3 and 14-1. However, since then Chicago has lost four consecutive games to go only 6-9.
The Cubs enter this series on a two-game losing streak. Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said his team’s morale is low, but it’s not over yet.
“Obviously, we had different expectations at the start of the year,” he said. “That’s the reality at the moment. We have 10 games left to achieve something.”
-Onsite level media
