Washington Nationals Series Preview: Nats vs. Cubs (5/25-27)

May 24, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) scores a run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. The Washington Nationals won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Fresh off a series win over the Philadelphia Phillies and a 4-1 homestead, the Washington Nationals are the hottest team in baseball. Long forgotten are the April days in which fans and analysts alike were jumping ship, declaring the Nationals to be the biggest “bust” and “disappointment” of the 2015 season.

Now, with over a quarter of the season in the books, the Nationals are playing how they were supposed to be playing from the start. They lead the NL East by a comfortable 2.5 games, and they’re rapidly making their way to the top of the National League. The Nationals are now eight games over .500, they’ve won eight of their last 10 games and they have won eight consecutive series’. But most importantly, the team doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.

The Nationals wrapped up the home stand yesterday afternoon in dominant fashion, as Gio Gonzalez and Bryce Harper led the way in a 4-1 victory over the Phillies. The team worked around a miserable start from Stephen Strasburg and a poor showing by the entire team on Saturday to take two out three against their rivals from the City of Brotherly Love. The series win came on the heels of a big two-game sweep of the Yankees last week to cap yet another impressive home stand at Nationals Park, where they are now 14-7 on the season.

This week, the Nationals are once again on the road as they square off against two NL Central teams. The Nationals kickoff a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field this afternoon, before heading out to Cincinnati on Friday for a weekend series against the Reds.

Like the Nationals, the Cubs are off to a good start to the 2015 season. After losing 89 games last season, the Cubs are 24-19 this season, have won six of their last 10 games and sit just 3.5 games behind the St. Luis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central.

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Chicago has no shortness of young talent, as developed and rising superstars such as Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are expected to help lead the Cubs to greatness in the very near future. The Cubs are already playing better this season than they were last season, and as Chicago’s abundance of young talent continues to develop, the team could become one of the best in all of baseball.

This week’s series between the Nationals and the Cubs won’t be easy for either team and there are several interesting storylines to keep an eye on, such as Tanner Roark‘s first start of the season and the rivalry between Bryant and Bryce Harper—two of the game’s most promising young talents.

With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the pitching match-ups that we expect to see during this series.

Next: Today's Matchup

May 4, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Tanner Roark (57) throws to the Miami Marlins during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. The Washington Nationals won 6-4. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

Today’s Matchup

Tanner Roark (0-2, 2.66 ERA) vs. Tsuyoshi Wada (0-0, 3.86 ERA) — 2:20 p.m. ET, MASN 2

When the Nationals signed Max Scherzer during the offseason, many wondered what the team would do with right-hander Tanner Roark. Over the last two years, Roark had developed into one of the team’s most reliable young starters and excelled as a starting pitcher last season. With Scherzer in the fold, however, Roark lost his spot in the rotation and was relegated to a bullpen role.

Of course, this is a great problem for the Nationals to have. The team isn’t too far removed from the day’s of John Lannan being the only decent pitcher in the rotation, and the fact that a player like Roark was forced to take up a bullpen job is a testament to how dominant this rotation is. More importantly, having Roark in the bullpen gives the Nationals a commodity that very few teams in baseball have: a reliever that also happens to be one of the best starting pitcher’s in the game.

Roark dominated as a starter last season, going 15-10 with a 2.85 ERA. By sending the right-hander to the ‘pen, the Nationals knew they would be missing out on a great starting pitcher, but they also knew that they had him in their back pocket for whenever they needed him. Today, the Nationals need Roark, and they’re as fortunate as ever to have him on their pitching staff.

The right-hander will make his first start of the season today against the Cubs in place of the injured Doug Fister, who is on the disabled list with a strained forearm. We don’t know how long Fister will be out, so it’s a pretty safe bet that we’ll be seeing Roark start at least a couple more games in the coming weeks.

It’ll be interesting to see how Roark responds in his first start of the season, since he hasn’t really thrown a whole lot of pitches this year. He’s been successful out of the ‘pen, however, and given what we saw from him last season it wouldn’t be surprising if we see a dominant start from the right-hander.

The Cubs will counter with left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada, who will be making his second start of the season. The left-hander pitched well his last time out, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out a career-high nine batters over 4 2/3 innings.

Wada was limited to just 69 pitches in his last start as he continues to work his way back from a groin injury that he suffered during Spring Training that forced him to miss most of the first two months of the season. Despite the time he missed. Ada was still solid his last time out and should continue to pitch well this afternoon against the Nationals.

Advantage: It’s hard to predict how today’s game will go in terms of starting pitchers, since neither pitcher have had a whole lot of experience as starters this season. but given Roark’s 2.66 ERA in the ‘pen this season and his overwhelming success as a starter this season, the Nationals certainly have the advantage in today’s pitching matchup.

There may be some rust on Roark’s part and he may not pitch too deep into the game since it’ll be his first start of the season, but he’s still been successful this season and has shown that he can be an elite starter in numerous occasions in the past. Plus, Wada will likely be even more rusty than Roark, as the Cubs’ left-hander has pitched just 4 2/3 innings this season.

Next: Tuesday's Matchup

May 20, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher

(27) throws a pitch in the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday’s Matchup

Jordan Zimmermann (4-2, 3.52 ERA) vs. Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 4.14 ERA) — 7:05 p.m. ET, MASN 2 and ESPN

Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann will make his 10th start of the season tomorrow night at Wrigley field as the Nationals face the Cubs in Game 2 of the three-game series. Zimmermann for off to a bit of a slow start this season but has pitched much better in recent starts.

Zimmermann earned his fourth win of the season his last time out, holding the Yankees to just two runs on five hits while striking out six batters over seven strong innings. The right-hander has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last seven starts, and has only allowed more than three runs once all season.

After being the best pitcher in the rotation last season, Zimmermann is once again pitching like one of the best starters in the game and has helped lead the Nationals back to first place. Tomorrow’s game will be a big test for the right-hander as he’s struggled mightily at Wrigley Field throughout his career, going 0-3 with a 6.27 ERA.

The Cubs will counter with right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who has had a strange start to the 2015 season. Hendricks has made eight starts this season, but earn his first win until his last start.

His last start was by far the best performance of the season for Hendricks, who threw a complete game shutout over the Padres, holding San Diego to just five hits in Chicago’s 3-0 victory over the Friars. Hendricks has never faced the Nationals in his career.

Advantage: While Hendricks was absolutely dominant his last time out, the advantage in tomorrow’s matchup goes to Zimmermann and the Nationals. Zimmermann has been dominant of late and continues to improve, and I expect him to turn in yet another dominant performance tomorrow night in Chicago.

Next: Wednesday's Matchup