The San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals square off on Saturday with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. The game takes place at Nationals Park in Washington DC, and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. The Giants will send veteran left-hander Alex Wood to the mound. He has allowed two earned runs through 9.1 innings in two starts thus far. The Nationals have yet to announce a starting pitcher.
The Giants (9-5) notched a 7-1 victory over the Nationals on Friday night. All of their runs came during the second inning as San Francisco knocked starting pitcher Patrick Corbin out of the game early. Shortstop Brandon Crawford broke out of his 1-for-11 slump with three hits and three RBIs. Austin Slater also brought home three runs as the Giants’ leadoff hitter.
Friday’s loss was the Nationals’ third in a row, dropping them to 6-10. They haven’t scored more than three runs in any of their past four games. With the offense not doing much of anything, pitchers are deciding to simply not pitch to star Juan Soto, who leads MLB with 16 walks. The Nats have hit the third-fewest homers this year (nine) and have the sixth-worst team OPS (.612). They also have the third-worst ERA in baseball (5.01).
Giants vs. Nationals
Pitchers: Alex Wood vs. TBD
First pitch: 1:05 p.m. ET
Giants local broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Nationals local broadcast: MASN
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Moneyline odds: Giants -165, Nationals +145
Picks & predictions
Moneyline pick: Giants -165
Friday was a bullpen game for the Giants, but since they were able to drain any suspense from the game early, they didn’t have to use any of the high-leverage arms in a bullpen that has the best ERA in MLB (1.91). So, San Fran is set up really well, pitching-wise, behind Wood today. Couple that with the Nats’ anemic offense — only three players have an on-base percentage above .300 — and the Giants look like an easy choice this afternoon.
Player prop pick: Joc Pederson OVER 1.5 total bases (+105)
This pick is dependent upon whom the Nats tab as their starter; Joc may not be in the lineup again if it’s another lefty. But if they go with a right-hander, Joc should have a big day. He has been hot of late, with multiple hits in four of his past eight games. That stretch has included three home runs.
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