The Washington Nationals will entertain the Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 of a three-game set in the Nation's Capital Tuesday night. Cincinnati picked up a 3-2 win in the opener last night but I expect the home-team to equalize the series with a win here in this "ace off".

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Reds hand the ball to Johnny Cueto (5-5, 2.84 ERA) who's having a great season as usual, but he's been way better home in Cincinnati where he's 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA compared to a 2-4 record behind a 3.90 ERA over eight road-starts. He's 6-3 in 10 career starts against the Nats, but it's with a rather swollen 4.06 ERA. The hosts can counter with a red hot Max Scherzer (9-6, 1.82 ERA) who's been extremely efficient of late recording two complete game shutouts in his last four starts while going 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA. He's retired 42 batters over 44 1/3 innings in that span and will face the Reds for the first time since 2008.

2. Home Cookin' - The Nats are 25-15 home at Nationals Park for the year and have won nine of their last 10 games in front of the home-fans. The Reds meanwhile have won only four of Cueto's last 14 road-starts against a team with a winning record.

3. X-Factor - Denard Span is 5-for-10 with two walks against Cueto lifetime.

Selection: This is a play on the Washington Nationals (8*)