First pitch: Monday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Chicago +115, Washington -125, Total: 7.0

The Nationals will be looking to win their fourth straight game when they host the Cubs on Monday.

The Cubs are coming off a 13-2 victory over the Braves in the final game of a three-game set on Sunday. The Chicago offense is firing on all cylinders, as it has now scored eight or more runs in three of the past four games. The Cubs have racked up at least 13 runs in those three contests and will be hoping to find a way to defeat this Nationals team on Monday. Washington, meanwhile, has been extremely hot as well. The Nationals have won six of their past seven games and recently swept the Phillies. They have also been clicking on offense scoring eight or more runs in five of their past seven contests. These teams have already met four times this season and Chicago won all of those games. The Cubs also happen to be 4-3 against the Nationals in Washington over the past three seasons. One trend that favors Chicago in this game is that the team is 27-13 against the money line on the road when the total is seven or less over the past two seasons. The Cubs are, however, a miserable 4-12 against the money line after two straight wins by four runs or more over the past three seasons. The starters in this game are set to be RHP Kyle Hendricks (4-5, 2.90 ERA, 57 K) for Chicago and RHP Max Scherzer (7-4, 3.57 ERA, 107 K) for Washington. Outside of OF Kyle Schwarber (Knee), no big name players will be missing in either lineup in this one.

The Cubs will be looking to slow down the red-hot Nationals on Monday and Kyle Hendricks will be the guy hoping to do so. He has been very good for Chicago this season and has allowed just six earned runs over his past four starts. Hendricks pitched 27.1 innings in those games and it’d be big for Chicago if he can work deep into this one. The last time he faced the Nationals, Hendricks allowed no earned runs in six innings of work. He struck out four batters in that game and allowed just two hits. With the way this team is hitting, another performance like that would likely mean the Cubs emerge victorious on Monday. One guy that will be looking forward to this matchup with Scherzer is 2B Ben Zobrist (.324, 8 HR, 38 RBI). Zobrist has had some success against the Nationals’ ace in his career, going 5-for-22 with three homers and six RBI. OF Jason Heyward (.240, 4 HR, 22 RBI) could also be in for a good game. He is 4-for-8 with a double against Scherzer in his career and also happens to be hitting well coming into this one. He is 6-for-9 with a homer over the past two contests and should carry his momentum into this one.

The Nationals will be hoping to keep up their impressive play on Monday and they’ll be happy to have Max Scherzer on the mound for this one. The righty has been very impressive his past two times out, allowing just two earned runs in his last 15.0 innings of work. Scherzer struck out 17 batters in those games and walked just three. He’ll be hoping to continue to miss bats in this one, but he did struggle the last time he faced the Cubs. That start was on May 6 and he allowed seven earned runs in just five innings of work that game. The big issue was that he gave up four homers and he will need to make sure he keeps the ball down on Monday. The guys that will be counted on to provide at the plate will be OF Bryce Harper (.258, 13 HR, 38 RBI) and 2B Daniel Murphy (.369, 11 HR, 42 RBI). Harper has seen his average go from .242 to .258 over the past 10 games, but he has not shown his power lately. He hasn’t homered since May 18 and the Nationals could use his power. It’d only help the team continue to win games. Murphy, meanwhile, has seen his average fall from .394 to .369 over the past 10 games. He was, however, hitting almost too well at the beginning of the year and it makes it hard to sustain. He should be able to produce on Monday, as it’s unlikely the Cubs will be able to keep him off the bases too often.