Where: Nationals Park
When: 7:05 EST
The Starters: Cain (9-3, 2.53) vs. Detwiler (4-3, 3.30)
The Line: Giants -120, Nats 100, O/U 7.5 Runs, Giants -1.5
Starters – Ross Detwiler will take the mound for the Nationals tonight in hopes of capturing the sweep over the Giants. Detwiler has really been solid for the Nats all year and was riding an 18-inning scoreless streak before having a disastrous 7th inning (4 ER) against the Braves in the Atlanta heat his last start. Ross has been tough to hit (.232 Opp BA) and has shown solid command all season, never yielding more than 2 walks in any of his last 8 appearances (2 starts). I feel pretty good about Detwiler’s odds of getting a quality start tonight against a Giant’s lineup that isn’t great against southpaws. The Giants will counter with Matt Cain in hopes of salvaging one game of this 3 game set in the nation’s capital. Cain has been one of baseballs best pitchers for years now and finally gained some notoriety last month when he tossed arguably the most perfect, perfect game in MLB history. The good news for the Nats is that Cain is coming off his worst start of the year (6.2 IP, 5 ER in loss to Reds) but he’s still red hot with an 8-1 record in his last 10 starts. Advantage Giants
Lineups – The Nationals lineup is in the midst of it’s most impressive stretch of the season by far. They were able to carry over their Coors Field success (35 runs in 4 games) into Atlanta, scoring 18 runs in a 3 game set against the Braves. The overall numbers on the season are still pretty underwhelming (no NL top 5s in any major statistic) but with the addition of Tyler Moore and resurgence of Zimmerman and Morse this offense looks to be on the rise. The Giants offense is very similar to the Nats in terms of production at this point in the season, in fact their total runs scored are almost exactly the same (Giants 317, Nats 316). The difference is in the way that each team has gotten their runs with the Nats using power and the Giants using speed/small ball. San Francisco does a good job of getting on base and once they’re on they run well. Advantage Nationals (slightly)
Bullpens – The Washington bullpen has been among the best groups in the NL for the majority of the season, and currently rank 3rd with a 3.07 era. They are just a really well assembled group, with guys who can get lefties out, guys who can get righties out, and guys keep runners from advancing with strikeouts. On top of that Tyler Clippard has been the best reliever in baseball since getting moved to the closer role. The Giants bullpen has done a really solid job this season despite the loss of All-Star closer Brian Wilson as they rank 5th in the NL with a 3.44 era. Replacement closer Stantiago Casilla has done a admirable job filling in, converting 21 of his 24 save chances with an era under 3. Their best pitcher Sergio Romo has been nearly unhittable this year with a microscopic 0.79 era. Advantage Nationals
Game Summary - Both starters dominate but Cain outlasts Detwiler to help the Giants avoid the sweep.
Prediction: Giants 3, Nationals 2
Key Players (Stat Prediction): Detwiler (6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 5 K, 2 BB), LaRoche (2-4, HR), Cain (7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 8 K, 1 BB), Posey (2-4, HR, 2 RBI)
Jesse’s Picks W/L: 46 – 33