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The Cubs are now 8-2 in August after what was a really nice win in Washington. The Nationals are almost certainly going to miss the playoffs again, but they have a talented and young team. If you missed the stat, the Nats have had exactly one plate appearance by a player 29 or over, and that was by Miles Mikolas of all people. Even if that changes in September after roster expansion, they should set a nearly unbeatable record. The future is bright and the present isn’t all that dim. They stubbornly fought this game all of the way down to the last pitch.
Alas, the Cubs got just enough of everything to pull out yet another win. This was another team effort, with at least half a dozen players making significant contributions. This offense is relentless, this defense is excellent. They just need to pull together enough pitching to be able to hold the line when an opposing pitcher is going off and shutting them down. Can they do that? That is the question.
Let’s break out the perspective check before we further discuss this. Four teams with more wins than the Cubs. The Cubs now own a 6.5 game lead on the first Wild Card spot. The Diamondbacks have caught the Phillies for the second spot. The Brewers got clobbered in San Diego and just like that, the Cubs are only four out in the division. I think it’s probably a little too early to get excited about that. But definitely time to start peeking over the fence a little. The Cubs are now on a 94.5 win pace. The Cubs are a season high 20 games over .500 and only need to split their remaining games to win 91. This team is starting to feel like the 2015 Cubs to me.
This was a game shaped a little unusual for this 2026 season. The Cubs fell behind early, trailing by two after each of the first two innings. But they scored in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings (and added an insurance run in the eighth). That turned a two-run deficit into a four-run lead heading to the bottom of the eighth. The Cubs have come from behind all across the map. They score so many runs that it isn’t terribly unusual for them to trail at some point and then bounce back. But usually once they get their offense going, they take off and leave the other team in the dust. I thought for a minute this one would go that way.
I thought wrong. That led to Jacob Webb being called upon for a four-out save. One of the fun things about a guy ascending to the closer role mid-season is that you sometimes end up with a multi-inning closer. Webb has seven saves to lead the team and in three of those he recorded more than three outs. He’d twice previously recorded six-out saves. That’s the benefit of Monday’s off day and having a very well-rested bullpen. Even with four relievers being used, there will be four other relievers with at least two days of rest heading into Wednesday’s game.
Offensively, the Cubs were fairly efficient. They had nine hits and drew five walks and had two HBPs. They turned that into eight runs. That’s a strong offensive output. Unsurprisingly, there were three homers and a couple of doubles. One of the walks scored, one of the walks drove in a run and one of the hit by pitches contributed to another run scoring. Free bases, they will kill you.
The Cubs survived a subpar start and a subpar evening out of the bullpen. That’s generally hard to do. But this team is playing exceptional baseball right now. Keep it rolling.
Three Positives plus Pete:
- Alex Bregman had another excellent night at the plate. He worked long counts all night, had a homer and a single, drew a walk and scored three times.
- Jacob Webb’s four out save was enormous.
- Seiya Suzuki had a double and a homer, he drove in two runs.
- Pete hit his 27th homer of the year. He’s had such a strong year that he homered and saw his wRC+ drop on the season. He already has 30 steals, so he’s just three homers away from back-to-back 30/30 seasons. At 24 years of age. Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodriguez are two active players that got their second such season in their age-24 season.
Game 120, August 11: Cubs 8, Nationals 6 (70-50)
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Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Jacob Webb (.177). 1.1 IP, 5 BF, H, 2 K (Sv 7)
- Hero: Alex Bregman (.145). 2-4, HR, BB, RBI, 3 R
- Sidekick: Nico Hoerner (.127). 2-3, 2B, HBP, SF, RBI R, SB
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Shōta Imanaga (-.189). 4.2 IP, 21 BF, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 ER, 5 K
- Goat: Ryan Zeferjahn (-.115). 0.2 IP, 6 BF, 3 H, BB, 2 ER
- Kid: Michael Busch (.090). 0-5
WPA Play of the Game: CJ Abrams hit a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the first for the game’s first two runs. (.185)
Cubs Play of the Game: Nico Hoerner batted with a runner on first and no outs in the fourth, the Cubs down one. He doubled. (.134)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 119 Winner: Matthew Boyd received 58 of 91 votes
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
- Pete Crow-Armstrong +29
- Alex Bregman +19
- Carson Kelly +15.5
- Shōta Imanaga +14
- Trent Thornton +13.5
- Edward Cabrera -9.5
- Phil Maton -10
- Jameson Taillon -13
- Caleb Thielbar -19.5
- Dansby Swanson -21
Up Next: Game two of the series Wednesday night. David Peterson (6-7, 5.35) will pitch for the Cubs. Peterson is 3-1 with a 4.03 (38 IP) over his last seven starts. He’s had no decisions in his last two starts despite allowing two earned runs in 11. 1 innings. Jackson Kent gets the call for the Nats to make his MLB debut. The 23-year-old lefty is 9-4 with a 3.72 in 20 starts (94.1 IP) across two levels this season. He averages more than a strikeout an inning and has allowed opponents a .216 batting average. He’s done a little worse at Triple-A, so there is some question if he’s ready yet for this test. He was a fourth round pick out of the University of Arizona in the 2024 draft. He’s originally from Roselle, IL. So I imagine he has some thoughts one way or the other about debuting versus the Cubs. He was 13 when the Cubs won their championship.
Give the kid a warm welcome.
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