After losing three squeakers in a row to Washington, Matt Garza and the Chicago Cubs will do their best to avoid a four game sweep in their series against the Nationals on Thursday night.
Garza, 4-7 with a 3.77 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, will try to repeat his most recent start, hopefully with a better result. In his last trip to the mound, against the White Sox, he took the loss, while throwing nine innings and giving up just one run on four hits and two walks, striking out seven. In his career against Washington, Garza is 0-0 after one start, with a 4.76 ERA and 1.94 WHIP. Jayson Werth is 1-for-3 against Garza, with a home run.
The Nationals will counter Garza with Livan Hernandez. Hernandez has been having a decent season and is 5-8 with a 3.73 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. In his career against the Cubs, Hernandez is 11-7 with a 4.16 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. Aramis Ramirez holds a career .364 average against Hernandez, with three doubles and four home runs.
The weather in Washington is forecast to be partly cloudy, with a small chance of thunderstorms, and a game time temperature in the upper 80's. First pitch is at 6:05 P.M., CDT, and the game will be televised on WGN and MASN 2 HD.