Chicago @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 28, 2010 ) Washington 3, Chi. Cubs 2
The post-Lou Piniella era begins on Monday for the Chicago Cubs as they visit the Washington Nationals, one day after their former manager stepped down from his position to tend to his ailing mother.
Piniella had planned to retire at the end of the season, but with his mother’s failing health, the 66-year-old decided it was best to leave the team now.
The Cubs couldn’t send Piniella off on a winning note, taking a nasty 16-5 beating at the hands of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Third base coach Mike Quade will take over as interim manager for the remainder of the season.
Chicago (51-73) sends Casey Coleman to the hill against Washington (53-70) and Livan Hernandez to begin a three-game set.
The Cubs are in the middle of a terrible tailspin right now. They have lost six of their last seven and are 20 games off the pace in the NL Central.
Coleman gets the ball in his second major-league start after lasting just 4 1/3 innings against the NL West-leading San Diego Padres last week. He allowed three earned runs and a homer while walking three in that contest. The Padres jumped on the rookie early, putting up two runs in the first inning while forcing Coleman to throw 37 pitches to get out of the frame.
Hernandez (8-8, 3.06 ERA) hasn’t won in four starts, but isn’t getting a lot of help from Washington’s bats. The big right-hander hasn’t allowed more than three runs since a July 17 loss against the San Francisco Giants and still has only two wins to show for it since then. The Nationals have won just four of their last 14 games overall.
Washington received more bad news over the weekend as rookie phenom Stephen Strasberg could be on his way to the disabled list with a right forearm issue. The right-hander is 5-3 with 92 strikeouts in 68 innings this year.
On the bright side for Nationals fans, a series with the Cubs could be just what the doctor ordered for Adam Dunn, Washington’s slumping first baseman. Dunn leads the team with 31 home runs this season, but was just 1-for-18 with 11 strikeouts during Washington’s six-game road swing. He has 41 career blasts against the Cubs.
The Nationals took two of three games from Chicago back in April, the only other time these two teams have met this season.