Chicago Cubs Vs Washington Nationals: Pre-Game Notes, Lineup, and TV Info

The Chicago Cubs are celebrating the Labor Day holiday in the Nation’s Capitol as they begin another week of labor beginning with their series against the Washington Nationals. The Cubs are coming off of dropping two of three games at Wrigley Field to the San Francisco Giants over the weekend. Travis Wood was the starting pitcher for the Cubs on Sunday, and the starting pitcher allowed 4 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits while lasting 5.2 innings. Alfonso Soriano led the offensive charge for the Cubs as he hit a three run home run, however, Carlos Marmol gave up two runs in the top of the ninth inning and that propelled the Giants to a 7 t0 5 victory over the Cubs.

Jeff Samardzija will take mound for the Cubs on Monday in their game against the Washington Nationals.

Broadcast Information

• Television: WGN
• Radio: WGN Radio 720 AM
• Game Time: 12:05 PM

Starting Lineup

1. Joe Mather, Center Field
2. Darwin Barney, Second Base
3. Anthony Rizzo, First Base
4. Alfonso Soriano, Left Field
5. Starlin Castro, Shortstop
6. Welington Castillo, Catcher
7. Josh Vitters, Third Base
8. Dave Sappelt, Right Field
9. Jeff Samardzija, Starting Pitcher

Pre-Game Notes

• Color me somewhat surprised that Josh Vitters is in the lineup. After saying that Luis Valbuena will be getting majority of the starts at the third base position for the rest of the season, Cubs’ manager Dale Sveum has continued to mix and match Vitters and Valbuena equally. There is no question that Vitters has struggled in his brief time with the Cubs, and some have speculated that Vitters’ struggles could effect him mentally. That was the reasoning that some have offered for Vitters’ not being in the lineup on a regular basis. If you ask me, the Cubs’ 2013 starting third baseman is not on the roster. In all likelihood, Vitters will be with the Iowa Cubs if not traded and Valbuena will be looking for an opportunity elsewhere if not in the Cubs’ farm system.
• The Cubs will miss Stephen Strasburg in their series against the Nationals, and reports have it that Strasburg will be shut down on September 12. Similar to what the Cubs recently did with Brooks Raley, the Nationals have an innings limit for Strasburg this season and he will be shutdown for the rest of the season after September 12. The only difference is that the Nationals are in the middle of contention, and Strasburg could be pivotal player to have for the stretch run. Typically, a team opts to shutdown a young starting pitcher in an attempt to avoid any harmful injury that would require Tommy John surgery. Strasburg, albeit still young, has already rebounded from Tommy John surgery. Usually, once a pitcher has had that surgery, they are in the clear for the remainder of their career. However, the Nationals opted to go with the safe route and shut Strasburg down for the rest of the season. The Cubs did not shut down Mark Prior in 2003, and well, we all know how that ended up.