It's a gray Sunday at Nationals Park, and I actually mean that in the literal sense. Rain is forecast on and off throughout the afternoon. Hopefully, it doesn't impact the game, but the grounds crew has the tarp ready to go just in case.
Metaphorically, it's been a gray several days for the Nats, who just wrapped up one of the worst months in club history, going 8-18. And that's just their record. As we know, a whole lot of other stuff happened that wasn't directly related to wins and losses.
But it's a new month, and you've sure got to hope August is better than July was. It begins today with the series finale against the Cubs, with Erick Fedde on the mound. The right-hander has had quite a wild ride this season. But if nothing else, he knows he's in the rotation the rest of the way now. It's up to him to prove to the organization he deserves a permanent spot there heading into 2022.
The lineup is similar to the one we saw last night, with Victor Robles again leading off, Luis GarcÃa at shortstop and Carter Kieboom at third base. That group will look to have more success against Cubs righty Adbert Alzolay than it did last night against Kyle Hendricks.
CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 75 degrees, wind 5 mph out to left field
NATIONALS
CF Victor Robles
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
LF Yadiel Hernandez
SS Luis GarcÃa
3B Carter Kieboom
2B Adrián Sanchez
C René Rivera
RHP Erick Fedde
CUBS
CF Rafael Ortega
3B David Bote
LF Ian Happ
1B Patrick Wisdom
3B Matt Duffy
RF Jason Heyward
C Robinson Chirinos
SS Sergio Alcántara
RHP Adbert Alzolay
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