Washington Nationals (29-32) vs Chicago Cubs (38-23)
Game Info: Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 6:45 pm (Nationals Park)
The Line: Betting Odds: Washington Nationals +120 / Chicago Cubs -142 — Over/Under: 9.5
The Chicago Cubs are visiting the Washington Nationals on Thursday, June 5th at the Nationals Park in the third game of this series, with both teams being tied 1-1 wins. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s the Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals Prediction. We will examine:
The Washington Nationals’ recent form and player performance
The Chicago Cubs’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Washington Nationals
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Chicago Cubs
Recent betting trends in games played between the Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Chicago Cubs vs Athletics game
Washington Nationals Preview
The Washington Nationals have a 29-32 record this season and are sitting in third place in the NL East. The Nationals have a 14-15 home record and are 30-29 in over/under. They are coming off a 2-0 home victory over the Cubs, which ended their previous two-game losing streak. Over is 6-2 in their last 8 games, and they are playing the Mets and the Rangers next.
The Nationals have a .243 batting average this season, a .311 OBP, and a .394 Slugging percentage. Washington’s pitching staff has a 4.99 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. James Wood leads the Nationals with 65 hits, 45 RBI and a team-high 16 home runs, while being the team’s best hitter with a .283 batting average.
Jake Irvin (R) will take the mound for the Nationals, and he has a 5-1 record, 3.93 ERA, and 1.17 WHIP. He has been better at home with a 3.19 ERA across six home starts, but he is coming off his worst start of the season, where he gave up 6 runs across 5 innings of work against the Diamondbacks. Jake Irvin is 0-2 with an ERA of 9.00 and 12 strikeouts in 3 appearances against the Cubs in his career.
Chicago Cubs Preview
The Chicago Cubs have a 38-23 record this season and are sitting in first place in the NL Central. The Cubs have an 18-12 road record and are 33-22 in over/under. They are coming off a 0-2 road defeat by the Nationals, which ended their three-game winning streak. Under is 5-2-1 in their last 8 games, and they are playing the Tigers and the Phillies next.
The Cubs have a .260 batting average this season, a .334 OBP, and a .443 Slugging percentage. Chicago’s pitching staff has a 3.80 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Nico Hoerner leads the Cubs with 66 hits, and he is the team’s best hitter with a .296 batting average. Seiya Suzuki leads the team in RBI, with 53.
Drew Pomeranz (R) will take the mound for the Cubs, and he has been a reliever, which means that Chicago will go for a bullpen game today. Pomeranz has a 2-0 record, 0.00 ERA, and 0.51 WHIP. Drew Pomeranz has a 2-1 record with an ERA of 3.15 and 24 strikeouts in 6 appearances versus the Nationals in his career.
Why the Washington Nationals will win
- The Nationals have won five of their last six games as underdogs after playing the previous day.
- The Cubs have lost four of their last seven games as road favorites after playing the previous day.
- The Cubs have failed to cover the run line in each of their last eight Thursday night games against NL East opponents.
- The Nationals have covered the run line in 10 of their last 11 games as underdogs after playing the previous day.
- The Cubs have lost the first inning in four of their last five road games against National League opponents that held a losing record.
- The Cubs have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last five road games.
Why the Chicago Cubs will win
- The Cubs have won each of their last 14 games following a road loss.
- The Nationals have lost eight of their last nine night games against the Cubs following a win.
- The Cubs have covered the run line in each of their last seven games following a road loss.
- The Nationals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last four games as underdogs against NL Central opponents following a win.
- The Nationals have trailed after 5 innings in seven of their last eight home games against NL Central opponents.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Nationals’ last six home games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Four of the Cubs’ last five road games have gone OVER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in seven of the Cubs’ last eight road games.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in seven of the last eight night games between the Cubs and Nationals.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Nationals rank T5th in the league for steals this season (57).
- The Nationals rank 26th in the league for ERA this season (4.99).
- The Cubs rank 1st in the league for RBIs this season (341).
- The Cubs rank 2nd in the league for runs scored this season (349).
Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals Prediction
The Cubs are 7-2 in their last 9 overall meetings against the Nationals, and are 5-1 in their last 6 visits in Washington. Under is 4-1 in their last 5 meetings.
In this Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals Prediction, the Cubs are coming as -150 road favorites. The Cubs are rightfully favored, as they have a better overall record this season and have been very good on the road, while the Nationals have been average at home. The Nationals have the second-worst bullpen in the league, while the Cubs are second in the MLB in runs scored. The Nationals are weaker against lefties, and Irvin has an expected ERA of 5.09; and he has been hit hard by Cubs bats in his career. I expect the Chicago Cubs to take care of business on the road in this one.