At 6-4, the Cubs are showing improvement, although they did lose a close game to the home team Nationals on Monday. They are hitting well of late especially vs left-handers. The Cubs face a very unsuccessful lefty in Patrick Corbin on Tuesday. Corbin, now 4-14, hasn’t had a quality start in a month at least and his ERA has sky rocketed lately. While he usually pitches for length if nothing else, he has been ousted early in his last three starts. Unfortunately the Nationals’ relievers are also poor, with an ERA of 5.00 in their last 5 games, and much worse over the longer term.

The Cubs have been getting decent pitching from all corners. Left-hander Justin Steele is 2-2, 1.95 in his last 7 starts and held the Nationals to 2 runs over 6 innings just last week. He has 16 strikeouts in his last 10+ innings pitched.

The Nat’s, now 3-7, are very poor as a home underdog, and 11-27 vs left handed pitching. This game is the Cubs’ for the taking, and a fine opportunity to pile up the runs early. Look for Steele and Chicago to take Game Two on the road. 9*!