At Wrigley Field on Friday, the Washington Nationals (56-83) open a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs (80-60), at 2:20 p.m. ET.
The Cubs are favored (-229 moneyline odds to win) when they take on the Nationals (+188). The matchup on the mound for this contest is set with the Chicago Cubs looking to Javier Assad (1-1), and Jake Irvin (8-10) answering the bell for the Washington Nationals.
The Cubs’ matchup Wednesday versus the Braves resulted in a 5-1 loss. Ian Happ went 1 for 3 in the defeat, while Ben Brown threw 1 1/3 innings, giving up two earned runs on one hit while striking out three en route to taking the loss.
The Nationals beat the Marlins 10-5 Wednesday. Nasim Nunez led the way offensively after going 3 for 4 with two home runs and four RBIs, and Jackson Rutledge got the win, throwing one inning without giving up an earned run on one hit.
Get ready for the Cubs vs. Nationals with what you need to know before Friday’s baseball action, including viewing options.
Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals odds, line and spread
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 6:16 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
Favorite: Cubs (-229, bet $229 to win $100)Underdog: Nationals (+188, bet $100 to win $188)Over/under: 9.5Cubs vs. Nationals: Game time and live stream infoGame day: Friday, September 5, 2025Game time: 2:20 p.m. ETLocation: Chicago, IllinoisStadium: Wrigley FieldTV channel: Apple TV+Live stream: Watch LIVE with Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply)
Watch Cubs vs. Nationals on Fubo!
Cubs stats and trendsCubs betting recordsThis season, the Cubs have won 64 out of the 101 games, or 63.4%, in which they’ve been favored.Chicago is 11-2 this season when entering a game favored by -229 or more on the moneyline.The Cubs have a 69.6% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.Chicago and its opponents have hit the over in 64 of its 140 games with a total this season.The Cubs have an ATS record of 63-77-0 in 140 games with a spread this season.Javier Assad (Cubs probable starter)Assad (1-1 with a 4.05 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Cubs, his fifth of the season.His most recent appearance came on Sunday against the Colorado Rockies, when the righty went six innings, surrendering three earned runs while giving up seven hits.The 28-year-old has amassed an ERA of 4.05, with 4.5 strikeouts per nine innings, in four games this season. Opponents are batting .289 against him.Assad is looking to register his third quality start in a row in this game.Assad will try to prolong a three-game streak of going five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.0 innings per appearance).The opposing Nationals offense has the 25th-ranked slugging percentage (.386) and is 28th in MLB play with 130 home runs. It has a collective .243 batting average, and is 22nd in MLB with 1131 total hits and 24th in MLB play scoring 588 runs.Cubs batting statsThe Cubs’ 189 home runs rank eighth in Major League Baseball.Hitters for Chicago rank seventh in the majors with a combined .427 team slugging percentage.The Cubs have a team batting average of .249 this season, which ranks 14th among MLB teams.Chicago is among the highest-scoring teams in the majors, ranking seventh with 688 total runs this season.The Cubs have the 12th-best on-base percentage in MLB this season (.319).Chicago ranks fourth in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 7.7 whiffs per contest.Nationals stats and trendsNationals betting recordsThe Nationals have been victorious in 50, or 41.7%, of the 120 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season.Washington has a win-loss record of 5-11 when favored by +188 or worse by sportsbooks this year.The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Nationals have a 34.7% chance of coming away with a victory in the contest.Washington and its opponents have gone over in 68 of its 138 games with a total set by sportsbooks this season.The Nationals are 68-70-0 against the spread in their 138 games that had a posted line this season.Jake Irvin (Nationals probable starter)The Nationals will send Irvin (8-10) out to make his 29th start of the season. He is 8-10 with a 5.42 ERA and 102 strikeouts over 154 1/3 innings pitched.In his last time out on Saturday, the righty tossed six innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing four earned runs while surrendering five hits.The 28-year-old has put up an ERA of 5.42, with 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 28 games this season. Opponents are hitting .269 against him.Irvin is trying to record his 10th quality start of the season in this matchup.Irvin is looking to collect his 24th start of five or more innings this year in this game.He has had three appearances this season in which he did not give up an earned run.The opposing Cubs offense has the seventh-ranked slugging percentage (.427) and ranks eighth in home runs hit (189) in all of MLB. They have a collective .249 batting average, and are 11th in the league with 1186 total hits and seventh in MLB play scoring 688 runs.In five innings over one appearance against the Cubs this season, Irvin has a 5.40 ERA and a 2.000 WHIP while his opponents are hitting .333.The 28-year-old ranks 53rd in ERA (5.42), 52nd in WHIP (1.413), and 55th in K/9 (5.9) among qualifying pitchers in MLB action this season.Nationals batting statsThe Nationals are third-worst in MLB play with 130 home runs.This season, Washington ranks 25th in baseball with a .386 slugging percentage.The Nationals are 20th in MLB with a .243 batting average.The offense for Washington is the No. 24 offense in baseball, scoring 4.2 runs per game (588 total runs).The Nationals rank 22nd in MLB with an on-base percentage of .308.