Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki each went deep for Chicago, and Suzuki added a run-scoring double on top of it, giving the Cubs just enough cushion to survive a Nationals lineup that kept firing back. Washington countered with homers from CJ Abrams, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews, but it wasn't enough to finish off the comeback.
Chicago came in having won 4 of its last 5, riding a run that included taking 2 of the first 3 from Kansas City, and the Cubs looked every bit like a team playing loose and confident behind Bregman's power. Washington, for all its warts, has quietly been just as hot — the Nationals also won 4 of their last 5 and rode a 3-0 sweep of Cincinnati into this series, a nice run for a club still built around kids like Abrams, Young and Crews.
The Nationals are doing this without their best hitter. James Wood, a second straight All-Star, has been out since early August with an oblique strain, and Washington's lineup simply hits different with him missing the middle of the order. Chicago's pitching staff has its own headaches, with Justin Steele, Cade Horton and Edward Cabrera all working back from the injured list — depth the Cubs will need if they want to hold serve in a crowded NL wild-card picture.
In the end it was a game decided by whoever's bullpen bent less, and Chicago's held just enough. For a Nationals team that's shown real signs of life the last couple weeks, this one stings — they had the firepower to match the Cubs swing for swing and still came up 2 runs short.