There might be a fire sale going on in Washington, but the good news for the Nationals is that Max Scherzer still has a fire extinguisher for a right arm. It’s a big pitching matchup as Scherzer (16-5, 2.11 ERA) takes on Aaron Nola (14-3, 2.24 ERA) and the Phillies.

The Nationals may have given up on the season, but Scherzer hasn’t. While the Phillies are still fighting it out with the Braves for the NL East title, Scherzer lives for this kind of moment.

Scherzer has gone at least six innings in each of his past 24 starts and hasn’t lost a game since July 2. For the season, he has 234 strikeouts in 174 ²/₃ innings, with a WHIP of 0.89.

The play: This is not a knock on Nola, because he’s having his best season. But Scherzer takes things like this personally, and he knows his team needs him. Betting is personal, so I’m going with Max, even though he may have to shut the Phillies out to do it.