Chicago Cubs look to rebound following loss to Scherzer, Nats

Afer taking the final two games of their weekend set from the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago Cubs had some trouble with Max Scherzer. Tonight, John Lackey looks to keep his scoreless inning streak alive while extending his club’s lead in the division.

Saying that Scherzer was in the zone last night would be a bit of an understatement. Max was absolutely cruising through that lineup early on, making guys chase and blowing pitches by them to strike out a handful of batters in only three innings of work.

What felt like 4-1 actually felt like the Chicago Cubs (43-19) were down by more than just three in the game. Shortstop Addison Russell broke up Scherzer’s perfect game by hammering a solo home run to deep left field, tying things up at one apiece.

Washington later responded with multiple runs of their own, pushing last night’s starter, Kyle Hendricks from the game.

More from Chicago Cubs News

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

Lackey (7-2, 2.63 ERA) has been on a tear in his previous three starts, holding the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks to one earned run on 12 hits, one home runs, six walks, and 23 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings of work.

Pretty solid for a veteran right-hander who holds one of the best records in professional baseball along with Jason Hammel, Jon Lester, and of course, Jake Arrieta. All four men are at the top of the league in both earned run average and wins.

Lackey picked up a start against the Nationals (40-24) during that four-game set at Wrigley and held them to two earned runs on six hits in seven innings of work. He picked up the win and lowered his earned run average from 4.32 to 4.02.

Taking the mound opposite Lackey will be Dusty Baker‘s 30-year-old southpaw, Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez (3-5, 3.93 ERA) was absolutely hammered by this Cubs lineup on May 7th as he was charged with five earned runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Both Russell and second basemen Ben Zobrist busted things wide open for the Chicago Cubs during the home half of the seventh and eighth inning of that ballgame. Russell came through with an RBI double in the seventh, making it 7-5 while Zorilla knocked in Dexter Fowler with a single to Bryce Harper out in right field.

Next: Cubs Minor Recap: Draftees eager to begin

Despite the Cubs still holding an 8.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central, it would be nice to extend that gap with a win in our Nation’s Capital.

First pitch for tonight’s contest is set for 6:05 p.m. central time and will air live on ABC 7, MLB Network (out of market), and 670 The Score.