Even without Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Daniel Murphy, if he's resting another game, Washington still is vastly superior to San Diego.

The Nationals have won 13 of their last 19 road games and own a huge pitching matchup here with Gio Gonzalez facing rookie Dinelson Lamet.

Gonzalez is pitching his best ball with a 3-0 mark and 0.43 ERA in his last three starts. The lefty has gone at least six innings during 13 of his past 14 starts.

San Diego is 13-19 versus lefty starters and has lost 20 more games than the Nationals.

Lamet has intiguing stuff. But he's very raw and inconsistent. His ERA at Petco Park is 3.75, which isn't impressive considering Petco is the premier pitching park in the majors.