Chicago at Washington

The Chicago Cubs have been getting the headlines. But, the Washington Nationals have won four straight and are in first place in the NL East Division. They are 40-24 after beating the Cubs 4-1 on Monday in another Max Scherzer masterpiece. Gio Gonzalez comes off a good outing after suffering a rough patch allowing three runs and five hits in seven innings at the White Sox. The Cubs have split their last eight games which almost qualifies as a slump for the NL Central leaders while the Nationals have won seven of their last eight games. Washington has won five home games in a row and six of its last seven against right-handed starters. John Lackey is 7-2 with a 2.63 ERA and coming off seven shutout innings at Philadelphia but the value lies with red-hot Washington. Play the Nationals.