Washington built an early cushion, but Chicago answered with the inning that decided the night. The Cubs turned a 2-3 deficit into a 5-3 lead during a three-run fourth, and from there they never trailed again in an 8-6 win over the Nationals at Nationals Park.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| WSH | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 0 |
Alex Bregman powered the Cubs offense, going 2-for-4 with a home run, an RBI and a walk, scoring three runs on the night. His solo shot in the sixth inning stretched Chicago's lead to 7-4. Seiya Suzuki added a two-hit game with a double and a home run, driving in two runs, including a solo shot in the eighth that pushed the margin to 8-4.
The fourth inning flipped the game. Michael Conforto's sacrifice fly to center scored Happ to tie it at 3-3, and two batters later Carson Kelly grounded into a fielder's choice that brought home Hoerner for the go-ahead run. Suzuki's double then drove in Kelly to make it 5-3. Chicago tacked on more when Dansby Swanson walked with the bases loaded in the fifth to score Bregman, and Bregman's own homer in the sixth extended the lead further.
Washington starter Jake Irvin lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts, taking the loss and falling to 2-6 on the season with a 5.79 ERA. The Nationals answered with home runs from C. J. Abrams, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews, and mounted a late push in the eighth when Jorbit Vivas and Nasim Nunez -- wait, Nuñez -- singled in runs to cut the deficit to 8-6, but it wasn't enough.
Cubs starter Shota Imanaga worked 4.2 innings and allowed 4 runs, with the bullpen covering the rest -- Ryan Rolison earned the win, improving to 7-1, while Jacob Webb closed it out for his eighth save. Chicago improved to 70-50 and has won two straight, while Washington fell to 59-62 and has now lost one in a row.