The Chicago Cubs couldn't have picked a better place to celebrate the Fourth of July then our nation's capital. Not only will they get to enjoy all the festivities associated with Independece Day, they also are going to a stadium where they've had a lot of recent success. Monday the Cubs will go for their eighth straight victory at Nationals Park. In the previous seven games the Cubs have outscored the Nationals 44-16. The offensive star in those games has been former National Alfonso Soriano. Soriano has hit .348 with four homers and 11 RBI's.
Things might be a little more difficult for the Cubs on Monday. Jordan Zimmerman will get the start for Washington in game one of the series. Zimmerman is coming off an incredible June in which he had an ERA of 0.85 in his six outings. The Nationals righty is 5-7 on the season with an ERA of 2.63. Zimmerman has also set a Nationals record by throwing 11 straight quality starts, and has allowed two runs or less in his last eight.
The Cubs will counter with Casey Coleman. Ryan Dempster originally was scheduled to start Monday, but was scratched because of a weekend illness and a sore back. Coleman was recalled from Triple-A on Monday. In his previous outings with the Cubs, the righty has a record of 2-4 with an ERA of 7.78.
The forecast at the time of first pitch is temps in the 90's with a slight chance of storms. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 CST. The game can be seen on WGN.