NL East rivals Washington and Philadelphia have split the first two of a three-game series at Nationals Park coming into the rubber-match this afternoon. The division-leading Nats had a six-game winning streak snapped yesterday but I expect them to bounce back bigtime this afternoon.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Nats will hand the ball to Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 4.94 ERA) who's 2-0 over his last four starts despite compiling a 4.88 ERA. He's been bailed out by a surging Nats offense, but I think the 29 year old southpaw will be able to get back on track today as he's got a favorable match-up against the Phillies. Philly will counter with Aaron Harang (4-3, 1.82 ERA) who'll make his second start at Nationals Park this season. He surrendered three runs on seven hits with two walks over six innings in a 5-3 win back in April but Washington's bats have really come alive since and their .283 batting average on the month ranks second to only San Francisco.

2. Home Cookin' - The Phillies have won just two of the last seven meetings at Nationals Park and the Nats are 7-1 in their last eight home games.

3. X-Factor - Bryce Harper is 9-for-20 with a double, a triple and a homer against Harang over previous meetings and he's coming in swinging a hot bat, hitting .373 with 11 homers so far on the month.

Selection: This is a play on the Washington Nationals (8*)