Bodog Beat

The Cubs take on the lowly Washington Nationals to kick off their second half. (AP Images)

The Chicago Cubs get to start the second half of the season against the lowly Washington Nationals as they try to stay in contention in the NL Central while dealing with injuries.

Chicago’s doubleheader split Sunday with the St. Louis Cardinals left the Cubs 3-1/2 games out of first place despite a first half full of injuries and underperformance.

The Cubs will be without starting catcher Geovany Soto for one month because of a strained left oblique.

In addition, righthanded pitcher Ryan Dempster is on the disabled list with a broken right big toe.

Rich Harden will start for the Cubs on Thursday.

The Nationals are 26-61, which is the worst record in the major leagues.

John Lannan, who will start Thursday for the Nationals, is 6-6 on the season with a 3.70 ERA. The lefthander is 2-0, with a 3.38 ERA in his career versus the Cubs.

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