New York at Washington

It is easy to look at the overall standings and see who has the better team in this matchup. But it starts to look a bit different if you look at the standings since July 1st. The Nationals are 23-18 and the Mets are 21-19. The Nats have been the better team for the last quarter of a season and continue to improve. They have been terrific at home, posting a 14-4 mark and an amazing 11-3 record as a home dog. The Nats eat up LHP. While they are just 37-51 vs. RHP, they are18-15 vs. southpaws and are second in the majors to backers on the moneyline vs. LHP. They feature eight players hitting .280+ vs. lefties, versus just 3 vs. RHP. Tom Glavine is 41 years old and he started very strong, but since May 8th his numbers are not very good. Glavine has worked 102 innings, allowed 119 hits, and has pitched to a 4.94 ERA. His ERA prior to May 8th was 2.98. The Nats also feature seven hitters that have combined to go 37-100 vs. Glavine in their career, good for a .370 average. The Mets may be without Millege (flu like symptoms) and Delgado (hyperextended knee) again. Looks like another very live dog, and we will back the Nats.