Opening Day always feels bigger than one game, and this one got loud in a hurry. The Nationals came into Chicago as the younger club with something to prove, and they wasted no time showing life.
At the time of writing, Washington leads the Cubs 8 to 3 in the top of the seventh inning on Thursday’s season opener at Wrigley Field.
A Fresh Season, Two Very Different Missions
This matchup carried extra weight before the first pitch even left Cade Cavalli’s hand. The Cubs opened at home at 1:20 p.m. CT, with Chicago trying to build on last year’s return to the playoffs and push toward a National League Central title.
The Nationals arrived with a very different feel. Washington is starting the season under a revamped front office and coaching staff, and 33-year-old Blake Butera is making his big league managerial debut.
That made this game more than a regular opener. It felt like a tone setter for both clubs. Chicago had the home crowd and the higher expectations. Washington had a chance to show that its young group is not just playing for later, but ready to compete right now.
The Pitching Matchup Had a Real Story Behind It
The starting pitchers gave this game a strong hook from the start. Cavalli got his first Opening Day nod for Washington after fighting through years of injuries.
MLB’s official Opening Day coverage noted that he did not pitch in the majors from Aug. 26, 2022, until Aug. 6, 2025, and that he went 3 and 1 with a 4.25 ERA in 10 starts last season.
On the other side, the Cubs gave the ball to veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd, who went 14- 8 with a 3.21 ERA in 2025 and earned his first Opening Day assignment for Chicago.
Washington’s Bats Took Over the Afternoon
The Nationals did not spend much time feeling out the moment. Joey Wiemer put Washington on the board with a solo homer in the second. Chicago answered in the third with RBI hits from Michael Busch and Pete Crow Armstrong, but the game flipped hard in the fourth.
Daylen Lile tied it with an RBI single, CJ Abrams followed with a two-run single, and Nasim Núñez added another run with a groundout. Jacob Young then broke it open with a two-run homer, and Núñez later scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.
By the official MLB scoreboard, Washington had nine hits through the top of the seventh, while Chicago had five. That tells the story clearly. The Nationals were not just scraping runs across. They kept putting pressure on the Cubs inning after inning.
Chicago Had Big Names in the Lineup, But the Game Slipped Fast
The Cubs’ lineup still had plenty of star power. Alex Bregman batted second, Pete Crow Armstrong hit cleanup, and Dansby Swanson was in the lower half of the order. Matt Shaw got the start in right field because Seiya Suzuki was out for the opener with a right knee issue.
Chicago did answer with three runs, including Swanson’s RBI groundout in the fourth, but it never found the clean shutdown inning it needed after Washington’s big surge.
Why This Game Is Getting So Much Attention
There is a good reason this matchup is drawing interest. It has the energy of Opening Day, a famous park, a playoff-hopeful Cubs team, and a Nationals club trying to show real growth under a new setup.
It also has a live score that turned heads fast. Washington came in as the team many expected to spend this season building, yet on this afternoon, it was the club playing sharper, hitting bigger, and controlling the pace.
