6* Washington (7:10 ET): The Nationals are certainly better than their record as they've outscored their opponents by a healthy 76 runs this season (4th best differential in the entire NL!). But losses like last night are indicative of why this club is currently 76-75 w/ basically no shot of making the playoffs. They blew a 4-0 lead - to Miami, mind you - and lost 8-5. The Marlins did all of their scoring in the fifth through eighth innings, taking the lead in the sixth (5-4) and then again (for good) in the seventh. Fortunately for the Nats, the Marlins are still a very bad team w/ the distinction of worst record (59-91) and worst run differential (-217) in the entire Senior Circuit. Washington also has Stephen Strasburg going Tuesday night. Like his team, he has owned Miami in his career. 

Strasburg hasn't necessarily been "himself" this season, especially when pitching at home. Fortunately for him, this game takes place on the road where he is 6-2 this season w/ a 2.26 ERA. Quite frankly, it hasn't mattered where Strasburg has pitched when facing the Marlins as he's gone 4-0 against them (0.67 ERA) going back to April of last year. His career numbers indicate even more dominance as the Nats are 19-7 the L26 times he's gone up against Miami. Here in September, Strasburg has pitched well, posting a 2.41 ERA and he's allowed 2 ER or less in four consecutive starts. He should do his job effectively tonight.

Sandy Alcantara will toe the rubber here for Miami and he has pitched well in his three starts this year, all of which have come against either the Phillies or Mets. He stays within the division for a fourth time here, sporting a 1.42 ERA and 0.947 WHIP thus far. However, I just can't look past the Marlins' general ineptitude as they are just 22-36 off a win this season. They've also given up an average of 7.1 runs the last seven games and as bad as their record is, it should be even worse given the difference between their number of runs scored and runs allowed. Look for the Nationals to bounce back Tuesday and earn a split of this short two-game set. 6* Washington

10* Over Blue Jays/Orioles (7:05 ET): Baltimore's pain was Toronto's gain last night as O's skipper Buck Showalter was forced to piece together a real skeleton crew on the mound due to a combination of injuries and general ineffectiveness. The end result was a 5-0 Blue Jays' victory and I'm a little surprised the beating wasn't even more severe considering it was 3-0 after the second inning. Two of the three homers Toronto hit yday were solo shots. Most of the damage was done against "opener" Evan Phillips, the first of three pitchers used by Baltimore last night. Truthfully, I'm surprised they didn't use more, given none of the three used had ever started a big-league game before. But the real key to last night's game staying Under was Jays' starter Ryan Borucki, who tossed eight scoreless innings and allowed just three hits. Expect a higher scoring affair tonight though as I'm on the Over.

Baltimore now has 107 losses, matching the 1988 team (who started 0-21!) for most in franchise history. Obviously, this team is going to set the record, possibly as early as tonight. The O's pitching staff is easily the worse in baseball as it's given up 830 runs in 150 games. The team that has given up the next highest run total is Texas, but they've allowed "only" 787. It will be a traditional starter going tonight, that being Dylan Bundy, who has had a real issue keeping the ball in the park this year. Bundy has allowed 38 home runs so far, most in MLB, and that's a real problem given Toronto just hit three last night. Bundy also sports a 9.35 ERA and 1.875 WHIP his last seven starts, having allowed 6+ ER four times. One of those was against Toronto as he gave up seven in just four innings. His L2 starts against Toronto have seen him allow 12 runs in nine innings.

I know Baltimore is bad, but I was shocked at Borucki's success last night, holding them to just three singles. It was the 15th time the Orioles have been shutout this season and they're only 3-11 off the previous 14 losses. It was the third shutout loss suffered in the last week, but the O's did come back to score five and eight runs respectively in the two games after. I don't see Aaron Sanchez having the same kind of success Borucki did as Sanchez has a 4.90 ERA and 1.545 WHIP for the season. Last night was just the third shutout of the year for the Blue Jays and they give up 5.1 rpg on the road. Toronto is actually the top Over team on the road in all of baseball (45-27-4) w/ an average of 9.5 total rpg scored. 10* Over Blue Jays/Orioles

8* NY Yankees (1:05 ET): The most famous rivalry in the sport is renewed Tuesday afternoon with this special matinee. Both the Red Sox and Yankees have known they're playoff bound for some time now, and in the case of the former, they've already clinched. The Yankees will soon too, but right now are trying to hold off the A's for home field advantage for what is all but assured to be the AL Wild Card matchup. Given the Yankees' home record (49-26), it would certainly behoove them to earn the right to host that one-game scenario. Entering the day, they are 1.5 games up on Oakland, who will be hosting the Angels tonight. The drive for homefield in the Wild Card Game should have NY highly motivated this afternoon as should the fact they have revenge against Boston for a prior sweep. I'm on the Yanks here. 

Last month, the Red Sox swept the Yankees at Fenway Park. It was a four-game series. But before that NY actually held the 5-4 edge in the season series. Though the Yanks are currently 11.5 games back of Boston, I feel the teams are a lot closer in talent than that. I like this opportunity to play against Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi, who comes in sporting a 7.72 ERA and 1.822 WHIP his L3 starts. He's also just 2-6 on the road. A former Yankees, Eovaldi did throw eight scoreless innings last month in Fenway. But given his 3.49 FIP, I don't see that happening again. The Yankees are averaging 5.6 run per game here in the Bronx, making them one of the highest scoring teams at home in all of MLB (right behind the Red Sox). 

On the mound, the Yankees will turn to J.A. Happ. He's actually been very effective since coming over at the trade deadline. He's posted a 2.70 ERA as a Yankee and was brought over in large part due to his past success pitching against the Red Sox. Over the last 4 seasons, Happ has posted a 1.78 ERA vs. Boston. He did allow five runs (all unearned!) against them back in July, but that was as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Last time out, Happ tossed six scoreless innings w/ 67 percent of his pitches going for strikes (including 15 of 23 on first pitch). He's 6-0 as a Yankee (7-1 TSR) and has allowed 2 ER or less in five of his last six outings. Normally, I might be worried about Boston's 34-9 record in day games this year, but the Yankees are 29-19. They're also 15-5 following an off-day. 8* NY Yankees