The set-up: Washington took Friday's opener by a score of 4-1, giving them a four-game win streak. But after giving up a run in the first inning on Saturday, the Mets slammed the door both on the Nationals offense and their win streak, recording a 3-1 victory. While the Nationals' path to playoffs should be considered very safe at this point (9.5 game lead in the division), the Mets' is a little less unsure as they trail St. Louis (for the Wild Card) by two in the loss column entering Sunday. Neither team has done much scoring of late as Washington is averaging only 3.0 runs/game its last seven while the Mets are at 3.3.

The pitching matchup: Max Scherzer was originally going to start tonight for the Nationals, but he has been pushed back until tomorrow simply to get an added day of rest. This is a huge break for the Mets, who have not scored off Scherzer the last two times they've faced him. They'll instead face Reynaldo Lopez, who is being recalled from the Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse. Things didn't go well for Lopez in his last big-league start as he allowed six runs in just 2.3 innings. That raises his ERA to 5.33 in five starts at this level. The Mets will go with Seth Lugo. While also a rookie with little big league experience, Lugo has allowed three runs or less in every start thus far. Advantage Mets.

The pick: It is such a huge break for the Mets not having to go against Scherzer. They are the more desperate team at this point as they are competing with multiple teams for that second Wild Card spot in the National League. Thus, I believe them to be the more 'desperate' club in tonight's contest. Throw in the fact that Washington has been held to four or fewer runs in each of its last seven games and we have an 8* play on the Mets.