WASHINGTON — the midst of a pennant race as August wound down. Instead it is the Milwaukee Brewers who are in the running for a playoff spot.More Brewers coverageBrewers Final Pitch: Chacin dominates mound in Game 3 of NLCSChacin http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-alex-colome-jersey , Brewers blank Dodgers to take 2-1 lead in NLCSDespite struggles, No. 23 Badgers still have hope in Big TenStrong winds could be factor for Brewers, Dodgers in NLCS Game 3Photos of the Week: 10/7/18 – 10/13/18Milwaukee comes to Washington for three games beginning Friday after beating the Cincinnati Reds for the second straight day on Thursday.The Brewers (75-60) got a Lorenzo Cain homer in the 11th inning for a 2-1 win that left them a half-game behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the top wild-card spot in the National League. Milwaukee is five games behind first-place Chicago in the National League Central.Thursday’s win followed Milwaukee’s 13-12 victory in a 10-inning slugfest on Wednesday night.“I think the offense looked tired,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell told mlb.com after Thursday’s win, “but you grind through it and you play good defense. We made pitches and Lo Cain got the big hit.”Washington (67-67) begins a 10-game homestand against NL Central entries Milwaukee, St. Louis and Chicago while trying to remain in the playoff hunt coming off a 3-3 road trip. The Nationals are 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Braves in the NL East and nearly as far back in the wild-card race with four teams ahead of them for the No. 2 spot.Brewers right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (13-5, 3.61 ERA) opposes right-hander Tanner Roark (8-13, 3.95) in Friday’s opener.Roark has been a different pitcher since the All-Star break, stepping up when the Nationals needed someone to back up ace Max Scherzer. Roark is 5-1 with a 1.61 ERA in his last seven starts. During that stretch, he has struck out 37 batters and walked five.“You really just feel unhittable James Paxton Jersey ,” a grinning Roark recently told the Washington Post. “You feel like each pitch that you’re about to throw is untouchable, and that’s what you want as a pitcher.”He started that streak in Milwaukee when he blanked the Brewers for eight innings in a July 25 win. Roark struck out 11 and walked only one.Last time out he was an unlucky loser against the Mets, allowing one run and four hits in six innings of a 3-0 Mets win.Roark entered the All-Star break 3-12 — winless since June 6 — with a 4.87 ERA.“It’s been awesome,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told the Post regarding Roark’s sharp turnaround. “Every time he goes out there we have a chance to win ballgames.”Roark is 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) in his career versus the Brewers.Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich is 9-for-36 (.250) against Roark. Jonathan Schoop is 2-for-4 and both hits are homers.Chacin has also enjoyed a strong August. After allowing eight earned runs to the Dodgers on Aug. 2, he has surrendered just six earned runs while going 3-1 over his last four starts.“We talked in spring training that once Yelich and Cain came aboard, we kind of forgot about Chac铆n, and how important he can be,” Counsell told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He’s ended up being really important.”The Brewers are 19-9 in games Chacin has started. He’s coming off a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he gave up three earned runs in six innings.Chacin beat the Nationals on July 23. He pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing a run and two hits while striking out nine without a walk. In his career, he’s 4-2 with a 3.06 ERA in nine starts against Washington.Anthony Rendon is 4-for-14 (.286) versus Chacin http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , and Adam Eaton is 3-or-11 (.273) and Bryce Harper 0-for-6. A look at what’s happening around the majors today:IN THE FIRST PLACEThe Red Sox and Braves begin a three-game series between division leaders at SunTrust Park. Atlanta rookie Touki Toussaint pitches for the second time in the majors — the 22-year-old righty threw six sharp innings on Aug. 13 to beat Miami.Toussaint was picked over fellow prospects Bryse Wilson and Kyle Wright after winning his last three starts at Triple-A Gwinnett in impressive fashion. Boston leads the majors with 94 wins, is 50 games over .500 and ranks first in the majors in runs, batting average and slugging percentage.“You dream of this as a little kid,” Toussaint said. “You want to be in the World Series pitching against the best.”Nathan Eovaldi (5-7, 4.35) starts for the Red Sox.PLAYOFF PREVIEW?The New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics own the top two spots in the AL wild-card race by a comfortable margin going into their three-game set at the Coliseum. CC Sabathia (7-5, 3.36 ERA) starts for the Yanks, who are 4 1/2 games ahead of the A’s. Trevor Cahill (5-3, 3.60) pitches for the Athletics, who are 5 1/2 games ahead of Seattle. Cahill is 4-0 with a 0.85 ERA in eight home starts.CY YOUMets ace Jacob deGrom aims to enhance his credentials for the NL Cy Young Award when he starts at Dodger Stadium. DeGrom leads the majors with a 1.68 ERA despite an 8-8 record. Los Angeles is coming off three straight wins over Arizona by identical 3-2 scores that put the Dodgers alone atop the NL West.NO TRIP FROM TRIPLE-AByron Buxton was once the shining star in the Twins’ farm system, and he was a Gold Glove outfielder for Minnesota last season. Now he’s been told that he won’t be recalled from Triple-A Rochester.“We’ve talked about all the frustration and difficulties he’s had to endure Miles Mikolas Jersey ,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said, “and when we came down to making the final decision, there were some things around the idea of how he played, injuries that he dealt with, his future. All those things came into play.”The 24-year-old Buxton played only 28 games from Minnesota this season and hit just .156.TIGER TRYMichael Fulmer (3-10, 4.71 ERA) will look to win for the first time in 2 1/2 months when the Tigers visit the Chicago White Sox. He is 0-5 with a 5.90 ERA in seven starts since his most recent win June 14.