This is an 8* SITUATIONAL DESTRUCTION on the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals fell hard to the Red Sox this week, but we think they'll bounce back in a big way on Thursday night and take out their frustrations on the lowly Marlins. The visitors hand the ball to the erratic Pablo Lopez (1-0, 3.00 ERA) who picked up a victory in his MLB debut over the Mets on Saturday, allowing two runs off six hits over six innings. Clearly the skies the limit for Lopez, but after that gem of an effort, we believe regression is predictable in the nation's capital tonight. The home side goes with Jeremy Hellickson (2-1, 2.63) who gave up three runs while striking out four over 4.2 innings in a loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. It was likely his worst effort of the season to this point, but his peripherals (7.1 K/9, 1.5 BB/9) both point to sustainability for now; note that he owns a 1.65 ERA at home. After a poor showing against Boston, we expect the NATIONALS to dominate from start to finish in this one. Lay the price with confidence, play on the home side.

AAA Sports