Washington right-hander Jake Irvin will look to win his fourth straight start when the Nationals host the Chicago Cubs in the decisive game of a three-game series on Thursday.

Irvin (5-1, 3.93 ERA) will be opposed by Chicago left-hander Drew Pomeranz (2-0, 0.00), who will be working as an opener.

Over his past three starts, Irvin went from good to great to subpar. On May 17, he allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles. One week later, he threw eight scoreless innings and allowed three hits in a win versus the San Francisco Giants.

In his latest outing, he gave up six runs on 10 hits in five innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday but still was the winner. Irvin did not strike out a batter and got only three swing and misses on the night.

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