Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/31/24): Cubs 5, Nats 3 – Hoerner’s Legs Help Win Another Series

The Cubs kept rolling on Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park, beating the Nats for their fifth consecutive win and the eighth in their last nine games. Chicago once again relied on a quality start and one big inning of offense to claim yet another series victory.

Washington built an early 2-0 lead on Javier Assad with an RBI single from Joey Gallo in the 2nd inning and a solo homer by DH Andrés Chaparro in the 4th. Former Cubs prospect DJ Herz dominated his former employer through the first four frames, not allowing a single hit.

The North Siders woke up in a big way in the top of the 5th inning, erupting for four runs keyed by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Pete Crow-Armstrong. The red-hot Christian Bethancourt lashed a single up the middle with runners on first and second and CF Jacob Young overran the ball, allowing the tying tally to come home.

Nico Hoerner dashed home on a groundout to the pitcher by Ian Happ to put the Cubs ahead. Herz was relieved by Jacob Barnes, who promptly gave up an RBI double to Dansby Swanson to put the road team on top 4-2. Assad surrendered a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the frame but finished strong, eventually going six innings to maintain the 4-3 lead.

Chicago got much-needed insurance on a bizarre sequence in the top of the 7th. Hoerner singled and stole second base with one out and Bethancourt at bat. The bespectacled catcher hit a dribbler in front of the plate and was tagged out by backstop Drew Millas. The catcher then noticed Hoerner was caught in no man’s land between second and third but his throw to second was wild and rolled into center, allowing the run to score and make it a 5-3 game.

The Cubs made things interesting in the 9th inning for a second consecutive day when Porter Hodge gave up a single and a walk to bring the winning run to the plate with one out. Hodge was able to bear down and strike out talented rookies Dylan Crews and James Wood to preserve the 5-3 victory. (Box score)

Key Moment

Chicago took advantage of two Nats errors to create three extra runs that proved to be the difference in this one. Their defense also erased two Washington runners on the basepaths.

Why the Cubs Won

They got another quality starting pitching performance and the lineup produced five runs, which is pretty good even though it’s a bit of a step back from the recent deluge of scoring.

Stats That Matter

• Assad gave up some hard-hit balls but overall did a very nice job and gave his team important length: 6 IP, 3 R, 8 H, 4 K, and 2 BB.
• Hoerner had two hits and created a pair of crucial runs with his excellent baserunning.
• Isaac Paredes reached base three times Saturday and it’s starting to come out of his slump.

Bottom Line

The Cubs went 18-8 in the month of August, digging them out of the hole they were in after a disastrous May and June. They may very well end the season with a better record than 2023, but could still miss the postseason by more games than they did a year ago. Regardless, it’s fun to see them winning all these games. If Craig Counsell and company want to screw around and win like 20 games in September and crash the playoff party, I certainly wouldn’t object. They should have a lot to build on going forward no matter what happens over the next month.

On Deck

The Cubs look for their second straight sweep Sunday at 12:35pm CT. Jordan Wicks is back from injury to take on Mitchell Parker in a matchup available on Marquee and 670 The Score.