This is an 8* on TAMPA BAY

Though they continue to hold serve in the AL East, Tampa Bay has lost four of six - all to last place teams. They could only manage a split of a four-game set with the sorry Red Sox over the weekend and before that lost both games to the Nationals. Tuesday sees them going for revenge against last year’s World Series champs. Obviously, the vibe in the Nation’s Capital right now is much different than it was at this time last year. The Nationals got off to a slow start and never recovered, meaning they won’t even get a chance to defend last year’s WS crown. Their weekend consisted of losing three of four to the Braves. Anibal Sanchez will be on the mound tonight and the Nats have lost his last four road starts. Despite a nice effort last week against the Rays, he still has a 6.34 ERA and 1.72 WHIP overall. Tampa Bay goes the “opener” route on Tuesday with John Curtiss. While it’ll be just his 2nd time “opening,” Curtiss has made 13 total appearances this year including one scoreless inning last week vs. the Nationals, who are 1-6 their L7 games at Tropicana Field. Play on TAMPA BAY

AAA