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1st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Top 5 winners:

1. Jackie Cooper
2. jeremyle***@yahoo.com
3. Mike Marsico
4. Brian Singleton
5. tjme***@aol.com

Overview:

On Wednesday, June 28th, the (38-37) Chicago Cubs will be on the road to take on the (45-30) Washington Nationals.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Nationals 5.5 – Cubs 3.8 with an over/under of 9.4.

Starting Pitchers:

CHC: John Lackey (5-8, 4.74) vs WAS: Stephen Strasburg (8-2, 3.57)

Batting Stats:

Runs per game: Nationals 6.65 (1^st) > Cubs 4.67 (16^th)

Batting Average: Nationals .278 (2^nd) > Cubs .240 (29^th)

On Base Percentage: Nationals .343 (3^rd) > Cubs .327 (15^th)

Total Bases: Nationals 1266 (2^nd) > Cubs 1063 (19^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Nationals 52 (6^th) > Cubs 22 (28^th)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Cubs 3.92 (6^th) > Nationals 4.14 (9^th)

Batting Average Against: Cubs .237 (5^th) > Nationals .250 (10^th)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Cubs 1.26 (6^th) > Nationals 1.28 (8^th)

Strikeouts: Nationals 672 (7^th) > Cubs 666 (11^th)

Saves: Nationals 20 (12^th) > Cubs 19 (13^th)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Nationals 46 (16^th) > Cubs 49 (22^nd)

Summary:

The Cubs enter the game ranked 16^th in runs per game (4.67) and 6^th in team earned run average (3.92).  The Nationals rank 1^st in runs per game (6.65) and 9^th in team ERA (4.14).  Both teams are (6-4) in their last ten games.  These teams have yet to match up in 2017, but the Cubs won the season series (5-2) last year.  Cubs starter John Lackey (5-8, 4.74) hasn’t exactly been lights out but has thrown at least five innings in every one of his starts this season.  Nationals hitters are batting a combined .297 off of Lackey.

Washington starter Stephen Strasburg (8-2, 3.57) has been dominant at times but has allowed five or more runs in two of his last three starts.  Cubs hitters are batting a combined .287 average against Strasburg.  Washington is (20-15) at home this season while Chicago is (16-21) on the road.  I think this will be a low scoring game and both starters will pitch deep into the game.  The Nationals have the best offense in the MLB and should be able to score a few off of Lackey.  If Washington can avoid one of their notorious bullpen meltdowns, they should win this one at home.

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