Washington Nationals vs. Giants Series Preview (8/5-8/7)

The Washington Nationals are back home tonight to begin a three game series against the San Francisco Giants

This week in Arizona, the Washington Nationals (64-44) offense scored 32 runs during their three game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Plus, the trio of Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Roark, and Max Scherzer gave up six runs during the sweep. With the Miami Marlins losing all three games to the Cubs, the Nats lead in the NL East is up to seven games.

The Washington Nationals went 6-3 on their nine game road trip and one of those stops was at AT&T Park where the Nats split a four game series against the San Francisco Giants (62-46). Tonight, the two teams begin a three game series at Nats Park.

Since that weekend series, the Giants lost two out of three games to the Phillies, but a Denard Span home run in the tenth inning yesterday prevented Bruce Bochy’s team from being swept yesterday. They enter tonight with a two game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West.

Over the trade deadline, the Giants were active as they traded for third baseman Eduardo Nunez from the Twins, acquired left-handed reliever Will Smith from the Brewers, and traded away Matt Duffy and two prospects to the Rays for starter Matt Moore. With Moore in the rotation, the Giants have put Jake Peavy in the bullpen.

In terms of the health on the Giants, they did get Joe Panik and Hunter Pence back during the last Nats series. Since coming back, Pence has a hit in each of the last five games that he’s played in. It’s been a struggle for the Giants in the second half. They are 5-13 in 18 games since the All-Star Break and have scored the second fewest runs in the National League (64). Their pitching has had its fair of struggles as the team’s 4.45 ERA is the fourth highest in the NL.

Before the game starts tonight, check out my breakdown of the three pitching matchups in this series:

Next: Tonight's Matchup