Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals preview, Thursday 8/13, 3:05 CT

Thursday notes…

• GETTING TO THE TOP: The Cubs are 37-16 since June 11, the best record of any team. With their loss last night, the Red Sox are 37-17. The Rays are 34-21; the Brewers, 33-22. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• COMING FROM BEHIND: Last night’s win was the Cubs’ 37th of the season after they trailed at some point, most by any team. The Diamondbacks have 36 comeback wins. The Cubs’ 37 wins have come in 50 different games in which they erased a deficit. They have won 10 in a row, 12 of 13 and 22 of 24, beginning on June 11, when they rallied to win at Colorado, starting their current surge. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DURING THE DAY: The Cubs are only 8-11 in day games on the road this season, but they are 7-6 in days games on the road following night games. They are 9-2 on Thursday, their best record on any day of the week. They are 14-6 on Wednesday and 12-7 on Tuesday. They are 5-1 on the road on Thursday, also their best. They are 8-3 on Wednesday and 7-3 on Tuesday. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Shawon Dunston’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth completes a Cubs comeback from a 5-1 deficit and they defeat the Pirates 9-8 at Wrigley Field. It happened 40 years ago today, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 1986.

Lineups were not available at posting time. Please check BCB social media for today’s lineups.

Kevin Gausman, RHP vs. Cade Cavalli, RHP

Kevin Gausman was solid in his first Cubs start last Friday in Kansas City.

He has not faced the Nats since 2024 and so only three of the current Nationals have faced him. CJ Abrams, who is having a really good year, is the only Nat who has hit him at all — 4-for-6. So, stop Abrams and Gausman can probably handle the rest of the Nats lineup.

With Foster Griffin traded, Cade Cavalli takes over as the Nats’ best starter. He’s had a solid year and has allowed three or fewer runs in all of his last 11 starts.

He was the Nats’ Opening Day starter against the Cubs and allowed three runs in 3.2 innings on a chilly, windy day at Wrigley Field March 26, which probably has little or no predictive value for today’s game.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Nationals Park.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Nationals site Federal Baseball. If you do go there to interact with Nationals fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.