First pitch: Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Arizona +130, Washington -140, Total: 8.5

The Diamondback and Nationals, two of the better teams in the NL through the first month of the season, kick off a three-game series in Washington, D.C.

The Diamondback (16-11) have been one of the surprise teams in all of baseball this season. The Nationals (17-8), on the other hand, have lived up to sky-high expectations, and perhaps exceeded them. The reigning National League East champions have a comfortable first-place lead in the division, and the D-backs—who won just 69 games in 2016—are neck and neck with the Rockies in the NL West, trailing first-place Colorado by a half-game. Dusty Baker’s squad lost two of three to the Mets this past weekend, but exploded for 23 runs in the season finale on Sunday. Arizona also lost its weekend series, dropping two of three to Colorado. D-backs RHP Taijuan Walker (3-1, 3.94 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) will be opposed by Nationals RHP Tanner Roark (3-0, 3.64 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) in the opener. These two teams have not yet met in 2017. The D-backs are 4-6 on the road this year; the Nats are 7-5 at Nationals Park. The only injured player of note on either side is Nationals CF Adam Eaton, who is on the disabled list with a left knee strain. Since 2014, the Nationals have won nine of 14 against the D-backs. Twelve of those games have gone OVER the total.

When the week began, the D-backs were second only to the Nationals in runs scored in the National League, so you can expect a lot of scoring in this one. Torey Lovullo’s club has scored 141 runs (2nd in NL as of Monday) and had the second-highest average (.269) as of Monday. A ridiculous five regulars in Arizona’s lineup are batting over .300: RF David Peralta (.326, 3 HR, 7 RBI), CF A.J. Pollock (.324, 2 HR, 8 RBI), 2B Brandon Drury (.318, HR, 8 RBI), 1B Paul Goldschmidt (.315, 4 HR, 19 RBI) and SS Chris Owings (.311, 4 HR, 19 RBI). LF Yasmany Tomas (.291, 5 HR, 20 RBI) and 3B Jake Lamb (.284, 5 HR, 21 RBI), meanwhile, lead the club in homers. The D-backs haven’t seen a ton of Roark, but Lamb has homered off him and Tomas has connected off him twice. Walker, who came to Arizona in a trade with Seattle this past offseason, has never faced the Nationals.

Who’s the only team in the National League, statistically, that is more potent than the D-backs? That would be the Nationals, who—coming into Monday—were first in runs (170), second in homers (43), first in average (.295), first in OBP (.369), first in slugging (.510) and first in OPS (.879). It’s pick your poison with Dusty Baker’s lineup. Coming into Monday, 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.420, 11 HR, 29 RBI) and RF Bryce Harper (.391, 9 HR, 26 RBI) were first and third in the league in hitting, respectively; Zimmerman was tied for first in homers and Harper was tied for second; and Zimmerman was first in RBIs. 2B Daniel Murphy (.343, 5 HR, 26 RBI) and Harper were tied for second in that category. SS Trea Turner (.317, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 4 SB) doesn’t have gaudy stats like theirs—partially because he’s already spent time on the DL this season—but he’s one of the better top-of-the-order bats in baseball. The Nats haven’t seen much of Walker, but C Matt Wieters (.301, 4 HR, 12 RBI)—who spent eight years in the American League—is 4-for-6 against him with a homer and a double. In four career starts against the D-backs, Roark is 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA.