The set-up: The Los Angeles Dodgers have won five straight NL West titles and last season took Houston to a Game 7 in the World Series before losing. Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals have won four of the last six NL East titles, winning between between 95 and 98 games in those four division-winning seasons. The two teams entered the 2018 season as the favorites to win the National League pennant. However, April hasn't exactly followed the script for either club. The Nats open their series with the Dodgers at 9-10 and the Dodgers check in at 8-9. Both teams have started to pick up the pace in the last week and the winner of tonight's game will climb back to the .500 mark. Washington scored 29 runs while opening the season with four straight victories but then totaled just 27 runs while dropping eight of its next 10. However, the Nationals have scored at least five runs in each of their last five contests, although they missed out on a road series sweep of the NL East-leading New York Mets on Wednesday when they surrendered nine runs in the eighth inning of an 11-5 defeat. Los Angeles began the 2018 season with only four victories for its worst 13-game start in 24 years behind a mostly lethargic offense. However, the bats have been red-hot during a four-game winning streak during which the club is averaging 9.3 runs per contest. The Dodgers began their surge by ending their 11-game skid against Arizona in convincing fashion Sunday ,before outscoring San Diego 30-10 over the next three days to sweep the Padres in San Diego.

The pitching matchup: It doesn't get much better than this, as Washington's Max Scherzer (3-1, 1.33 ERA) squares off against LA's Clayton Kershaw (1-2, 1.73 ERA). Scherzer is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and was named the NL Player of the Week for his dominant efforts last week. He allowed just two hits while striking out 10 en route to his fifth career shutout on April 9 over the Braves (2-0). He then delivered an 11-strikeout performance against Colorado this past Saturday in which the only hit he allowed over seven innings was a two-run HR in a 6-2 victory. Scherzer is 3-4 with a 2.92 ERA against Los Angeles. Kershaw is a seven-time All-Star and two-time CY Young winner. He finally got the run support he had been lacking and earned his first victory in a 12-strikeout performance on Sunday against Arizona, giving up only a solo HR among the two hits he allowed over seven innings of a win. he's been moved up a day to fill in for the injured Rich Hill but will still be pitching on regular rest. Kershaw is 11-2 with a 1.97 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts) against Washington.

The pick: These two pitchers have combined to win five of the last seven NL Cy Young awards, so a pitchers duel is expected. Washington has fared better away from home this season (6-3 while averaging 6.00 RPG, compared to an unexpected 3-7 mark at home) and after going a MLB-best 57-24 at Dodgers Stadium in 2017, LA is just 4-5 at home to open 2018. Make the Nats an 8* play.