The St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals are playing live on the MLB schedule on Tuesday and the matchup starts at 7:05 pm ET from Nationals Park as Gio Gonzalez and Lance Lynn face off in the pitching matchup between these NL contenders.

The Nationals have started the season 6-7 overall and they are third in the NL east behind the Mets and the Braves. That is not expected to hold, as the Nats have been predicted as the winners of the division and many consider them the best team in baseball. The team got off to a slow start and they have now won four of the last five games coming into this matchup with the Cardinals, which could be a playoff preview for this year.

The Nats had lost to the Red Sox in a couple games before bouncing back and beating the team in the series finale and now they have the Cardinals. The team took two of three from the Phillies and now they will try and keep things going after bouncing back from a loss with a win in the final matchup of their three game set in the division.

The Cardinals come in at 8-3 on the season and they are leading what should be a tough division in the central. The Cards have been the most consistent team in the NL over the past few years and that should put them in position to make a run again. The team comes in having won five in a row and have only lost two games in the last seven matchups.

The Cardinals swept the Reds and that was big in the division and that came after winning two of three against the Brewers, also in the division. After being at home for a stretch, the team visits the Nationals and this could be one of the best matchups of the early season. The Nationals know that they are better than their start and they can get things back on track with a win here to get to even numbers.

The Cardinals rotation has been very good and that means players like Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman will have to step up. The Nats are luckily missing Adam Wainwright in this series and according to the Washington Post, the Cardinals have a 7-2 record with the lowest Era in the league this season. The National League could come down to these two teams and this matchup could be an early preview of the postseason.

Check here for the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals live coverage.