With 40 games remaining in the schedule, some harsh realities are setting in for different clubs around MLB. Even flickering playoff hopes at the start of August may now be slipping away as the calendar marches along with cruel indifference. This next week may be the final chance for teams like the Nationals or Pirates to  push back into the playoff hunt, and they can be expected to take an approach that makes every one of their contests a playoff game from here on out. Here’s how the swarm sees that affecting the matchups tonight.

Fair to say that few teams have had more of a disappointing rollercoaster season than the Washington Nationals this year. Tabbed in the preseason as World Series contenders, the Nats now face an uphill fight just to qualify for a wildcard playoff spot. The brightest spot for them so far this year has been the pitching of Mad Max Scherzer, who seems headed to his third Cy Young award. Tonight he takes the mound at home as Washington squares off against Miami. Perhaps because of Scherzer’s presence, the swarm loves the Nats here, so much that it’s their pick of the night.

Setting aside any lingering disappointments about the Nationals and how their season has gone, the swarm here forms a rapid consensus with strong momentum (almost every magnet moves to their side of the hex from the outset). This – and the two-runs-plus win selection – makes this a prediction with a high degree of confidence behind it. The swarm then marked this game (over Cleveland hosting Baltimore, another high confidence game) as its pick of the night.

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