This is an 8* play on WASHINGTON

San Diego has rallied to defeat Washington each of the past two days, winning by identical scores of 5-4. In many ways, these last two games closely mirror the kind of seasons the teams are having. Washington has been really disappointing, never more so than when Max Scherzer takes the mound. Despite putting up his usually strong numbers, Scherzer is somehow left with a 3-10 team start record. That changes for the better tonight. The Padres are an opponent Scherzer has pitched well against in the past (2.37 ERA in 10 starts). Back on April 26th, he held them to two runs and four hits and struck out 10 in seven innings. But like last night, the Nationals bullpen allowed the game to get away. Hopefully that doesn't happen again here because Scherzer should have his team in position to win. The last three starts from Scherzer have seen him allow just two runs and he's lasted 20 innings. San Diego only averages 3.8 runs/game at home, which won't be enough to support Eric Lauer here. Lauer has pitched well for San Diego, but let's not forget Washington had won 9 of 11 coming into this series. Play on WASHINGTON

AAA