Chicago at Washington

Chicago rolled into this series fresh off sweeping the Dodgers, and Shota Imanaga was a big reason why, working five innings of one-run ball in the finale to push his ERA down to 3.60 and his record to 8-9. That start was part of a trend, not an outlier — his numbers have been sliding the right direction for weeks. Washington, meanwhile, is the definition of streaky: the Nationals dropped seven straight before salvaging four of five against a lifeless Reds club, and the bullpen behind tonight's starter has been a genuine liability, surrendering 15 combined runs in the ninth inning alone over their last four-game set while one reliever's ERA ballooned from 4.01 to 6.25 in that same stretch. Jake Irvin draws the assignment for Washington at 2-5 with a 5.37 ERA, and outside of one strong outing against Chicago back in March, he's been hit hard by the Cubs, working to an 8.54 ERA in his other starts against them. I like Imanaga's command against a shaky Washington pen enough to make this a lopsided matchup on the mound and in the bullpen behind it. We're on the Cubs on the moneyline tonight.