Nationals vs Cubs Prediction & MLB Odds For Saturday, September 21st
The Nationals and Cubs will face off in an NL matchup at 2:20 PM ET at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Nationals have a record of 68-86 and they are 4th in the NL East, while the Cubs have won two straight and are 2nd in the NL Central.
Washington comes into the game as the slight money line underdog (+119), while the Cubs are favored at -141. Saturday’s forecast in Chicago calls for clear skies and temperatures in the upper 70s. Kyle Hendricks will start for the Cubs, and he is facing off against MacKenzie Gore for the Nationals. MASN will be televising Saturday’s game.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Nationals 1.5 (-183) | Cubs -1.5 (+148)
- Total: 8.5
- MoneyLine: Nationals +119 | Cubs -141
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Nationals vs. Cubs Prediction: Moneyline
Chicago picked up a 3-1 win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a 1-0 lead after the first inning and didn’t score another run until putting up two in the 7th. As for the Nationals, they scored their only run in the 8th.
Jameson Taillon started for the Cubs and picked up the win, going six innings and not giving up a run. He finished the game with just four strikeouts but induced seven groundouts. Trevor Williams got the start for the Nationals and took the loss, giving up one earned run in five innings of work.
Dansby Swanson was the only Cubs hitter to have more than one hit, as he went 2/4 with a home run. Christian Bethancourt also had a two-hit game for Chicago. For the Nationals, James Wood hit the game’s only other home run and went 1/3.
With an overall record of 68-86, the Nationals are 4th in the NL East, 24 games behind the Phillies for the division lead. The Nationals have dropped five straight games, and they lost the first two games of this series vs. the Cubs. In the NL East, they are 23-26 against other teams in the division.
At home, the Nationals are 36-39 this year, and they are 32-47 on the road. As the underdog, the Nationals are 53-73 this year, and they are 15-13 when favored. Washington’s overall series record is 19-24-6, and they are coming off a series win over the Rockies.
With an overall record of 79-75, the Cubs are nine games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead. Chicago has gone 21-28 against other teams in the division. The Cubs have won two straight games, and their home/road split is pretty even with a 41-35 mark at home and 38-40 mark on the road.
Chicago has dropped two straight series, and their overall series record is 21-25-3. As the favorite, the Cubs are 42-37 and 37-38 as the underdog. Their two-game winning streak as the favorite is the same as their current overall winning streak.
Nationals vs. Cubs Prediction: Over/Under
The Washington Nationals are on the road today against the Chicago Cubs. The over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs. The Nationals have an over/under record of 73-75 on the season, and their games have had an average combined run total of 8.9 runs. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, their record is 20-23. Overall, 60 of their games this season have had over/under lines set above 8.5 runs, accounting for 39.0% of their games.
So far this season, the Nationals are averaging just 4.1 runs per game, which is 23rd in the MLB. As a team, they are batting .242, which is 11th in the league, but they are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and isolated power. The Nationals have been a good team at avoiding strikeouts, as they are 5th in the league in this category.
CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. have been the Nationals’ top power threats this season, with Abrams leading the team with 20 homers and Garcia Jr. sitting in 2nd with 16. Abrams has been hot of late, going 10/21 in his last six games with five runs scored. James Wood has also homered three times in his last 10 games but is batting just .229 over that stretch.
The Chicago Cubs are playing at home today against the Washington Nationals. The over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs, which is slightly lower than their combined run average of 8.8 runs per game. The Cubs have a 73-76 over/under record this season, and their games have averaged an over/under line of 8 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, the Cubs have a record of 18-14 in those games. This season, 29.2% of their games have had over/under lines set at 8.5 runs or higher.
Over the Cubs’ last six games, Ian Happ and Dansby Swanson have both gone 9/27 (.333) with two homers. Happ is the Cubs’ leader in RBIs this season, while Swanson has scored six runs in this stretch. Nico Hoerner is also swinging a hot bat right now, going 11/21 in his last six games. Hoerner is currently on an eight-game hitting streak.
For the season, the Cubs are averaging 4.6 runs per game and are one of the best road teams in the league in terms of scoring, averaging 5.1 runs per contest. Chicago comes into the game with a team batting average of .243 (10th) and are 5th in on-base percentage. Currently, they have three players with at least 20 homers, led by Ian Happ’s 25 homers.
Nationals vs. Cubs Prediction: Spread
Washington is 85-69 on the run line this season, but they are just 40-35 at home. They are 45-34 on the run line on the road, but they have failed to cover in their last game. They are 13-15 on the run line as the favorite, but 72-54 as the underdog.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Cubs on the road. He has made 30 starts this season and has a record of 9-12 with an ERA of 4.17. Gore’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.49. In his 30 appearances, he has turned in nine quality starts. Gore’s most recent outing was a good one, as he went six innings, giving up just one earned run and picking up the win. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight starts. Per nine innings, Gore is averaging 9.57 strikeouts and 3.58 walks.
Chicago has a run line record of 75-79 on the season, and while they have been a poor bet at home (29-47), they have been a great bet on the road, going 46-32. The Cubs have an average run margin of 0.4 runs per game on the season, and they have a run line win streak when favored of one game.
Right-hander Kyle Hendricks gets the start for the Cubs today as he faces the Nationals at home. This year, he has made 22 starts and has a record of 4-11 with a 6.25 ERA. Hendricks’ WHIP for the season is 1.49, and opponents are batting .282 off him this year. In his last outing, he picked up the win, going six innings and giving up one earned run on three hits. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight outings. Hendricks has a total of four quality starts this year.
Nationals vs. Cubs Pick: Cubs ML -141
Our prediction for this Nationals vs. Cubs matchup is to take the Cubs on the money line at -141. We have the Cubs winning this game by a final score of 5-4. If you’re looking for an over/under prediction, we would take the over, as the line is sitting at 8.5 runs, and we have this game finishing with nine total runs.
Looking at the starting pitcher’s projections, we have Kyle Hendricks finishing with four strikeouts compared to MacKenzie Gore with six. Hendricks is also projected to go longer into the game than Gore, but we have him finishing with a higher ERA.
