Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals Betting Pick & Prediction 8/31/24

Chicago comes into the game on a four-game winning streak and is 69-66 overall, which has them 2nd in the NL Central. The Nationals, meanwhile, are 4th in the NL East with a record of 61-74. DJ Herz will start for the Nationals, and he is facing off against Javier Assad for the Cubs.

MLBN will be televising this matchup, and the money line odds have the Cubs favored at -129 compared to the Nationals at +109. Saturday’s over/under line is at 9 runs, and first pitch from Nationals Park is set for 4:05 PM ET.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS VS CHICAGO CUBS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Washington Nationals Moneyline +109

This game will be played at Nationals Park at 4:05 ET on Saturday, August 31st.

HOW TO BET THE CUBS VS NATIONALS:

• We have the Nationals winning by a score of 6 to 5
• If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Nationals to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 11 runs and like the over

Chicago picked up a 7-6 win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a huge 2nd inning, scoring seven of their nine runs. As for the Nationals, they scored their final three runs in the 9th but came up just short.

Shota Imanaga got the win for the Cubs, going six innings and giving up three earned runs. He finished the game with eight strikeouts but allowed one home run. Keegan Thompson got the save. Jake Irvin had a rough outing for the Nationals, taking the loss.

Cody Bellinger, Ian Happ, and Michael Busch each homered for the Cubs. Bellinger and Pete Crow-Armstrong each had two RBIs. Dylan Crews hit the lone home run for the Nationals, going 1/5 with three RBIs.

Cubs Records & Stats

Chicago is on a four-game winning streak, and they are 69-66 overall this season. The Cubs are 10 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and are 2nd in the division. So far, they have gone just 20-26 against other teams in the NL Central.

As the Cubs have won four straight on the road, they are 33-37 for the year away from home. Chicago has been good in closing out series, as they have won four straight series and have an overall series record of 19-21-3.

When betting the run line on the Cubs this season, it’s been a good idea to take them on the road. They’re 41-29 against the run line away from Wrigley Field, compared to just 25-40 at home. Their average run differential is +0.3 runs per game, but they’ve been much better against the run line in games they’ve been the underdog, going 46-22. They’ve also been a good bet to cover the run line in games they’ve won, with an average run differential of +3.6 in those contests.

The Cubs have been a strong over team this season, with a combined run average of 8.7 runs per game. Their over/under record is 62-68, and their over streak is at four games. When the O/U line is set at 9 runs, the Cubs are 5-11-3, and the average O/U line for their games is 8 runs. Only 13.3% of their games have had O/U lines set at 9 runs or higher this season.

Through 24 starts, Javier Assad has a record of 6-4 and an ERA of 3.15. Looking at his overall numbers, Assad has a WHIP of 1.34 and has issued 3.83 walks per nine innings compared to 7.65 strikeouts. For the season, he has turned in five quality starts and is coming off a rough outing in which he gave up three earned runs in seven innings of work. In that outing, he gave up one homer. Before that, he had allowed just one earned run in three straight starts. Assad has been much better at home, with an ERA of 2.43 compared to 4.29 on the road.

Chicago comes into today’s game averaging 4.5 runs per game, which is 14th in the league. They have been a better offensive team on the road this season, averaging 4.9 runs per game. The Cubs have been a good home run hitting team this season, but they are just 24th in the league in batting average.

Over his last five games, Ian Happ has gone 11/22, and he is the Cubs’ leader in RBIs this season. Happ has gone deep 23 times this season, which is 13th in the league. Nico Hoerner and Isaac Paredes are also near the top of the Cubs’ home run leaderboard, but both players are batting below .230 for the season.

Nationals Records & Stats

With a record of 61-74, the Nationals are 18 games behind the Phillies for the NL East lead. Currently, they are 4th in the division and trail the Mets by 10 games for the final Wild Card spot. So far, they have gone 18-20 in divisional games. The Nationals will host the Cubs today with an overall home record of 32-35.

Washington has gone 29-39 on the road this season. As the underdog, the Nationals are 49-63 this year and 12-11 as the favorite. The Nationals’ overall series record is 18-22-3, and they are currently losing their series vs. the Cubs.

Washington is 37-30 against the run line at home this season and has covered the run line in three straight games as the underdog. The Nationals are 77-58 against the run line overall this season, with an average run margin of -0.4 runs per game. They have been the underdog in 112 of their 135 games this season, covering the run line in 66 of those contests.

The Nationals have played in 80 games with over/under lines set at 9 runs, and their record in those games is 13-17-3. Their combined run average for the season is 8.9, and the over/under record for the season is 65-65. The average over/under line for their games is 9 runs. So far this season, 16.3% of their games have had over/under lines set at 9 runs, and 59.3% of their games have had lower lines.

Washington is sending DJ Herz to the mound today vs. the Cubs, and he comes into the game with a record of 2-6 and ERA of 3.84. So far, he has made 14 starts and two of them have been quality starts. Herz’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.28, and he is averaging 11.38 strikeouts per nine innings. In his last outing, Herz finished with a no-decision, going five innings vs. the Braves and not giving up a run. Before that, he had lost three straight starts. The right-hander has given up at least two earned runs in each of his last four outings.

Washington’s offense is averaging 4.2 runs per game this season, which is 21st in the league. They have been a little better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .245 (11th) and have done a good job of avoiding strikeouts. The Nationals have the 23rd ranked home run total in the league and are 19th in slugging percentage.

CJ Abrams has gone deep 18 times this season, which is the most on the team, but he is batting just .243. Luis Garcia Jr. is batting .292 and has 15 homers. Over his last five games, Jacob Young is hitting .412, and Dylan Crews has two homers in his last four games while going 5/16.