The Chicago Cubs are looking to wrap up their series against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
The two teams have played a tightly-contested series, with the Cubs winning Game 3 despite being no-hit for six innings by Max Scherzer. Anthony Rizzo’s RBI single in the eighth inning proved to be the difference, as Wade Davis slammed the door on the Nationals and put them one loss away from elimination.
The Cubs will line up like this when they look to finish off the Nationals:
The Cubs will be facing Tanner Roark, who has struggled against left-handed hitters this season. Maddon has loaded up his lineup with lefty options, including Game 3 hero Ben Zobrist, who smacked a double to left field to break up Scherzer’s no-hitter.
Javier Baez will be back in the order after getting Monday night off, and he’ll replace Jason Heyward in the mix. Baez will play second base, and Zobrist will be moved to right field as the Cubs sacrifice a bit of outfield defense to get another strong on-base presence into the mix.
Meanwhile, this is how the Nationals will look as they try to stave off elimination:
After keeping the same lineup for three games, the Nationals have finally made a few changes for Tuesday. They’ll be moving Jayson Werth up in the lineup, while dropping Anthony Rendon down to sixth in the order.
Their task will be to take on Jake Arrieta, who has been on the sidelines since the end of the regular season as he continues to deal with a hamstring ailment. The injury caused Arrieta to alter his mechanics at the end of the season, and the telling sign on whether or not he is fully healed will come as he drives toward the plate.
Chicago Baseball
First pitch is scheduled for 4:38 p.m., with rain potentially looming in the forecast.
