The Yankees spinning their wheels the past two months has thrown a lifeline to teams like the Royals, who still find themselves in with a shout of the last AL wild card berth. KC got off the deck nicely last night in a 7-4 win to open this series vs. the Nats, and catch what looks like a fading Washington starter in Mitchell Parker, who has a 7.76 ERA since the start of July, and even worse than that (12.00!) in two August losses. Meanwhile, Michael Wacha is pitching as well as he has the past two seasons for the Royals, with KC winning his last three starts and Wacha posting a 1.78 ERA across his last five efforts. Play Royals on the Run Line.

The Royals were good to us Monday, rallying from down 2-0 early. Had been on the opposite side of losing with a lot of early leads of late. See no reason not to go right back as Kansas City has a chance to get back to .500 for only the second time since June 20 ... at home against a last-place team. You simply can't lose a game like this. Intangibles. Michael Wacha has a 2.63 ERA at home and has allowed 2 ER or fewer in five straight regardless of location. Young Nats counterpart Mitchell Parker looks gassed with a 7.76 ERA over his last six starts.