First pitch: Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: New York -120, San Francisco +110, Total: 7.5

The Yankees will be going for their seventh straight victory when they host the Nationals on Tuesday.

The Nationals started the season off extremely well, but they have now lost eight of their past 10 games. Run support has been an issue for this team at times, as Washington has scored three or less runs in eight of the past 10 as well. This team will need to start putting together games where it can get runners on base and make something come of it. The Yankees, meanwhile, enter this game playing some of their best baseball of the year. New York has won six straight games and is coming off of a series against the Angels where the team scored 22 runs in a three-game sweep. 1B Mark Teixeira continues to be a force at the plate for the Yankees this year and has been hot as of late, piling up three homers and 10 RBI over the past six games. He’ll look to get himself some more by making solid contact on the hard-throwing RHP Max Scherzer (6-4, 1.85 ERA, 90 K) on Tuesday. Scherzer has been nearly unhittable this year, but he is coming off one of his only poor starts of the year. He allowed four earned runs in six innings in a loss to the Blue Jays on Jun. 2 and will be looking to rebound in this appearance against New York. For the Yankees, RHP Masahiro Tanaka (3-1, 2.76 ERA, 33 K) will take the mound. Tanaka pitched well in his return from an arm injury on Jun. 3, allowing just one earned run in seven innings against the Mariners. Washington is 35-12 against the money line when playing with a day off over the past three seasons. The team is, however, up against a Yankees group that is 13-4 against the money line after allowing two runs or less this season. CF Denard Span (Back) is questionable for the Nats and CF Jacoby Ellsbury (Knee) is out for the Yankees.

Max Scherzer has been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball over the past few years and that hasn’t been different this season. He is, however, coming off of a rough start and will look to turn it around on Tuesday. If that is going to happen then he is going to need some run support. One guy who the Nationals will be counting on in this game is RF Bryce Harper (.326, 19 HR, 46 RBI). Harper has been one of the best hitters in the league this season and will need to provide a spark for his team against a very talented pitcher in Tanaka. He was 0-for-4 in the series finale against the Cubs on Jun. 6, but did go 2-for-4 with a solo shot the game before. 3B Yunel Escobar (.325, 2 HR, 15 RBI) has also been very solid for Washington this season. He has been getting on base all year and went 3-for-4 in Sunday’s game. Escobar isn’t an everyday player, but if he is in the lineup then he will need to be productive at the plate. Another player that can really help the Nationals moving forward is 3B Anthony Rendon (.200). Rendon returned four games ago after dealing with an injured knee and is 3-for-15 in those games. He must find some comfort at the plate and start to deliver as his team has come to expect from him.

The Yankees have been on fire heading into this game, but the team now faces a guy that has given them a lot of trouble in the past. Scherzer is extremely hard to hit and that has not been any different against New York. 3B Alex Rodriguez (.280, 11 HR, 28 RBI) has been great in his return this season, but he is 1-for-10 against Scherzer in his career. 1B Mark Teixeira (.237, 17 HR, 45 RBI) and C Brian McCann (.255, 9 HR, 35 RBI) have also been lousy against the Washington stud, going a combined 4-for-21 against him. These are the Yankees’ top three hitters until Ellsbury returns to the team and they will need to find a way to get on base on Tuesday. If not then the game will come down to how well Tanaka is able to pitch. He looked outstanding against the Mariners in his return last start, and he even struck out nine batters in the outing. If he is not feeling any of the effects of his injury then he should be able to keep his team in this game.