Jake Irvin wasn’t efficient, but he was effective for most of Tuesday’s start.

​But things unraveled quickly for Irvin in the fourth inning with the Nationals leading by a run. He walked Ian Happ on five pitches and allowed a double to Nico Hoerner. Michael Conforto tied the game on a sacrifice fly and Chicago took the lead on Carson Kelly’s fielder’s choice RBI.

​Irvin then pelted Dansby Swanson, and his outing was done. But replacing Irvin with left-hander Tom Cosgrove didn’t stop the bleeding. Cosgrove struck out All-Star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong but allowed an RBI double to Seiya Suzuki that allowed the Cubs to take a two-run lead.

​That three-run fourth inning sunk the Nationals in their 8-6 loss to the Cubs. Tuesday’s game showed that the Nationals’ offense is still formidable enough to compete with the best teams in the National League. Even when they were down, the Nationals continued stringing together quality at-bats.

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​Right-hander Max Kranick entered the game in the fifth inning and struggled to find the zone, landing just 54% of his pitches for strikes. Singles by Alex Bregman and Hoerner put pressure on Kranick early in his outing. He walked Conforto to load the bases, prompting a mound visit by pitching coach Simon Mathews.

​Kranick recalibrated and got Carson Kelly to pop out, but his command issues surfaced as he walked Swanson to bring in a run. He escaped the bases-loaded jam by inducing a popup from Crow-Armstrong.

​It wasn’t the prettiest, but the Nationals’ bullpen did its best to mitigate the damage and give the offense a chance. Even without All-Star James Wood, the lineup has continued to produce. All-Star CJ Abrams gave the Nationals an early two-run lead after he recorded his 29th homer of the season and his first in August.

​Jacob Young hit a solo homer in the second, and Dylan Crews slugged a homer in the fifth. The Nationals tied a team record with four players with at least 10 homers and 10 stolen bases (Young, Wood, Abrams and designated hitter Daylen Lile).

​But there’s more uncertainty in the rotation than ever. Wednesday’s starter is still to be announced, and Miles Mikolas — who started Thursday’s 7-3 loss to the Phillies — entered the game in the seventh and threw a scoreless inning.

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​Mikolas wasn’t scheduled to pitch the Cubs series, so he could still be on regular rest for the final game of an upcoming three-game set against the Mets. However, it was still a curious decision by the Nationals (59-62) given their lack of viable starters after designating Zack Littell for assignment and trading All-Star left-hander Foster Griffin.

Trailing 8-4 in the eighth, Brady House drew a walk and advanced to third on Harry Ford’s one-out double. Pinch hitter Jorbit Vivas drilled a slider to left field for an RBI single before Lile flew out on a well-struck ball to right field. Down to their final out, Nasim Nuñez kept the inning alive with an RBI single to center field that cut the deficit to two.

After a lull as they dealt with the subtractions of Curtis Mead and Luis García Jr., at the trade deadline, the Nationals’ offense has roared back, and the lineup showed its potency Tuesday.

As has been the case all season, they just need the pitching to pull its weight.