This is a 6* BIG-CHALK CHOKE-OUT on the Washington Nationals.

The Nats have lost four straight after yesterday's 6-4 setback and now sit one game behind the Mets for first place in the NL East. As good as Patrick Corbin has been for the visitors since returning from Tommy John surgery, I'm giving the nod to Max Scherzer in this matchup. Scherzer (11-8, 2.22 ERA) is 2-0 with a tiny 1.29 ERA vs. the Diamondbacks lifetime and is second in the league in opponent batting average (.193) and WHIP (0.83) and fifth in ERA and strikeouts (172). Also note that Scherzer comes in with a ton of momentum after pitching seven innings of three-hit ball in his teams 1-0 win at Miami. The home side is 13-8 vs. southpaws which is bad news for Corbin (2-3, 3.21 ERA) who is 1-1 with a pedestrian 4.26 ERA in three starts vs. Washington. Recent scuffling at the plate has been the Nationals main issue, but this also works in our favor in this one, it's almost impossible to imagine Washington not coming in razor focused on the task at hand. We feel that there are enough significant factors working in favor of the NATIONALS to pull the trigger on the higher price.

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