The Chicago Cubs are chasing the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot in the NL Central, and the latest Cubs standings show Chicago sitting 4.0 games back after taking the opener of a three-game series against the Washington Nationals. Chicago won that game 8-6 on Tuesday and looked to build on the momentum Wednesday behind starter David Peterson, who entered the outing with a 6-7 record and a 5.35 ERA to go with 88 strikeouts. Peterson faced Washington left-hander Jackson Kent, who was making his season debut for the Nationals.
The series has offered a window into how Cubs manager Craig Counsell is managing his lineup during a stretch the team hopes will pull it back into first place. Chicago has been one of the more consistent offenses in Major League Baseball this season, and the Cubs standings reflect a club that, while still trailing Milwaukee, has positioned itself as a legitimate contender heading into the stretch run.
Bregman Moves Up to Third in the Order
Alex Bregman, the Cubs' marquee offseason addition, was bumped up to the third spot in Wednesday's lineup after batting cleanup in Tuesday's series opener. With Washington countering with the left-handed Kent, Counsell shuffled his order, and Bregman slid into the No. 3 hole while Carson Kelly took over cleanup duties, according to the lineup card shared by Underdog MLB. Wednesday's full order had Pete Crow-Armstrong leading off in center field, followed by Seiya Suzuki in right, Bregman at designated hitter, Kelly catching, Michael Busch at first base, Nico Hoerner at second, Tyrone Taylor in left, Pedro Ramirez at third and Dansby Swanson at shortstop, with Peterson batting ninth as the starting pitcher.
Bregman has been an everyday presence for Chicago since signing with the club, but by his own standards the season has been a modest one. Across 117 games and 537 plate appearances, Bregman is hitting .251 with 13 home runs, 23 doubles and an OPS+ of 104, well off his career mark of 129, according to statistics cited by Yahoo Sports. Despite the dip in offensive production, Bregman has continued to provide strong defensive value at third base, posting a bWAR of 3.1 on the season. Should Bregman's bat heat up down the stretch, it would only add to a Cubs lineup that is already regarded as one of the deeper groups in baseball, further strengthening a team many view as a legitimate World Series threat.
Swanson Stays Put at the Bottom of the Order
While Bregman moved up, Dansby Swanson remained anchored in the nine-hole for a second straight game, a decision that reflects the shortstop's ongoing struggles at the plate. Swanson went hitless in Tuesday's 8-6 win, finishing 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout, and Chicago opted to keep him at the bottom of the order rather than move him up.
For the season, Swanson is batting .213 with 17 home runs and 64 RBIs. His recent form has been especially rough: over his last 15 games, he is hitting just .189 with one home run and four RBIs, a cold stretch that has coincided with his demotion in the batting order. Swanson is currently in the fourth year of the seven-year, $177 million contract he signed with the Cubs, a deal that made him one of the centerpieces of Chicago's roster overhaul in recent seasons. His slump has been a notable subplot even as the team around him has surged, underscoring how the Cubs have managed to stay competitive in the standings despite uneven individual performances up and down the lineup.
A Series That Could Shape the Chase for First
Tuesday's 8-6 victory over Washington kept Chicago's pursuit of Milwaukee alive, and a series win Wednesday would extend that momentum as the Cubs look to close the 4.0-game gap in the NL Central. The Nationals, for their part, turned to Jackson Kent for his first big-league appearance of the season, giving Chicago's lineup an unfamiliar look to attack in the middle game of the set.
The lineup tweaks from Counsell, particularly the decision to slot Bregman ahead of Kelly against a left-handed starter, point to a manager actively searching for the right combination as his team pushes through the heart of the schedule. With Swanson mired in a slump and Bregman working through an uncharacteristically average year by his own standards, the Cubs have still managed to remain in playoff position and within striking distance of the division lead, a testament to the overall depth manager Craig Counsell has been able to lean on.
How the rest of the Nationals series plays out, and whether Bregman's move up the order sparks a turnaround at the plate, could go a long way toward determining whether Chicago can shave down that 4.0-game deficit before the calendar turns. For now, the Cubs standings show a team firmly in contention, with Milwaukee still the target and Washington the immediate obstacle standing between Chicago and continued momentum in the NL Central race.
