The Jim Riggleman era begins tonight at Nationals Park, as the Chicago Cubs come rolling into town. The Cubs sit third in their division with a .500 record at the all-star break, and I'm sure that's a huge disappointment to North Side fans, as this team was billed as s strong contender.
But with Milton Bradley and Carlos Zambrano on the team, you never know when you might see a water cooler destroyed, so at least they have that going for them. Which is nice.
The Nats return home after a 1-6 road trip for an 11-game homestand against the Cubs, Mets, Cardinals and Padres. Anyone want to guess wins on the homestand in the comments section?
CHICAGO CUBS (43-43, 3rd in NL Central--3.5 games back; one-game losing streak)
CF Johnson
SS Theriot (11-for-26 (.423) over last seven)
RF Bradley
1B Lee (5-for-22 (.227) over last seven)
3B Ramirez
LF Soriano
2B Baker
CA Hill
SP Harden
WASHINGTON NATIONALS (26-61, 5th in NL Central--22.5 games back; one-game losing streak)
CF Morgan
1B Johnson (11-for-25 (.440) over last seven)
3B Zimmerman
LF Dunn
RF Willingham (10-for-25 (.400) over last seven)
SS Guzman
CA Bard
2B Gonzalez (8-for-13 (.471) over last seven)
SP Lannan
STARTING PITCHERS
WAS: John Lannan (112.0 IP, 6-6, 3.70 ERA, 50 K, 39 BB)
CHC: Rich Harden (74.0 IP, 5-6, 5.47 ERA, 83 K, 36 BB)
WEATHER
Fairly miserable. Hot and humid, 25% chance of passing t-storm. First pitch: 87F; last out: 81.
i'll place the over/under at 4.5 and take the under.