Nationals vs. Cubs: Hendricks, Lester Look to Bounce Back in Big Series
The series starts a run of nine games against the Nationals, Pirates, and Brewers
By James Neveau ••
The Chicago Cubs, who have a two-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, have a critical stretch of games coming up, starting with a three-game set against the Washington Nationals.
The Cubs will then take on the Brewers in a quick two-game series at Wrigley before heading to Pittsburgh for a four-game series against the Pirates next weekend.
Here is our preview for the team’s first series of their homestand, as Bryce Harper and the Nationals come to town:
In his last seven starts, Hellickson has a 5.14 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 39 hits allowed in 35 innings of work, so the Cubs will hope to get to him early. Hendricks has been using his curveball more in recent starts, and has seen his strikeout totals go up, fanning at least seven batters in each of his last three starts.
Javier Baez, who has a home run in his career against Hellickson, is a player to watch for the Cubs in this game, as he is batting .333 with six extra-base hits and five RBI over the last week for Chicago.
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Baez has gone with “The Magician” for two years in a row, and it’s easy to see why considering his on-field exploits.
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TELEMUNDO DALLAS
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Cishek’s first job was at a Mobil gas station and his friends gave him the nickname.
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Hollywood is a nickname that Hamels’ former Phillies teammate Jimmy Rollins gave to him.
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Ian Happ
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SEPTA
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Kintzler says the nickname was given to him when he was in Triple-A in 2016 because he was “salty” about not being in the major leagues.
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Lester also skipped the nickname portion of Players Weekend last year, but opted for something other than his own name this time around.
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Brandon Morrow
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This may be the best of the bunch, as the nickname roughly translates as “Great Hair.”
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Mavis
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Roark, an Illinois native, has been on a tear lately, going 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 20 strikeouts in his last three starts. Meanwhile, Lester is still trying to find his form after a strong first half, giving up four or more runs in five of his last seven starts for the Cubs.
One player who may not see the lineup in this game is Jason Heyward, who is hitless in 18 career at-bats against Roark.
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Cole Hamels donates millions to charity
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The Cubs’ first trade deadline under Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer saw them acquire Hendricks and Christian Villanueva from the Rangers in exchange for pitcher Ryan Dempster.
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The Cubs got a haul when they traded Matt Garza to the Rangers, acquiring Edwards Jr., Justin Grimm, Mike Olt, and Neil Ramirez.
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The Cubs got a jump on the market with this one, getting Russell from the A’s in exchange for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel.
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The Cubs acquired Montgomery and Jordan Pries from the Mariners for Paul Blackburn and Dan Vogelbach. All Montgomery would later do is get the save in Game 7 of the World Series.
The Cubs acquired Chapman in a blockbuster swap, for Billy McKinney, Rashad Crawford, Adam Warren, and Gleyber Torres.
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In the first crosstown trade in years, the Cubs got Quintana for a hefty price, sending Dylan Cease, Eloy Jimenez, and two other prospects to the White Sox.
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The Cubs sent pitcher Eddie Butler and another prospect to the Rangers in exchange for the veteran Hamels, who won MVP honors in the 2008 World Series.
Sunday: Max Scherzer vs. Cole Hamels 7:05 p.m.
Scherzer has been dynamic against the Cubs, posting a 2.92 career ERA against the North Siders in six starts. Hamels has been strong in two starts since coming over to the Cubs, giving up just one earned run in 11 innings, and he had a good outing against the Kansas City Royals on Monday, striking out two batters but giving up just one earned run in six innings.
Ben Zobrist has had some success against Scherzer in his career, with three home runs and six RBI in 25 career at-bats. He has had more success recently according to MLB.com, with a .300 average in the last five seasons against the Nationals’ ace.
