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Happy Saturday! The contending San Francisco Giants will travel to the Nation's Capitol to take on the basement-dwelling Washington Nationals. Join us for our MLB odds series where our Giants-Nationals prediction and pick will be made.
In the midst of a three-game losing streak that has pushed them all the way back to a tie for second place in the NL West with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 54-44 Giants will call upon RHP Logan Webb to get the team back in the win column. So far, Webb is 8-7 with a 3.11 ERA in 20 starts on the season.
Even though the ‘Nats only have a total of 39 wins on the season, Washington was able to edge out San Francisco by a score of 5-3 in front of their home fans. At this point, the Nationals are just playing for pride as they currently sit 24.5 games out of first place. On the mound in this one for the Nationals will be righty Josiah Gray who has accumulated a 6-8 record with a respectable 3.59 ERA on the year.
Here are the Giants-Nationals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Giants-Nationals Odds
San Francisco Giants: -1.5 (-114)
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-105)
Over: 8.5 (-120)
Under: 8.5 (-102)
How To Watch Giants vs. Nationals
TV: MASN/NBC Sports Bay Area
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:05 ET/4:05 PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Giants Could Cover The Spread
After enduring an extremely average 81-81 record in 2o22, the Giants have turned on the afterburners and have returned to form. As it stands, San Francisco is right in the thick of the playoff picture despite having lost three-straight contests.
If the Giants are going to get the losing monkey off their backs while covering the spread, San Fran should be in tremendous hands with Logan Webb on the bump. Bafflingly enough, Webb has averaged an absurd eight innings pitched per game during the month of July and is clearly the Giants' most dialed-in pitcher at this moment in time. Even more impressive, Webb has tallied 28 strikeouts in his previous three starts and has been missing bats to the best of his ability.
While Webb should have a major advantage against a below-average Nationals lineup, the biggest issue for the Giants during their losing streak has been their inability to put up runs consistently. With only a combined six runs over the course of their last three losses, it will be a major priority for guys like outfielder Michael Conforto and third-baseman J.D. Davis to have a productive day at the plate to help their squad snap out of their offensive funk.
Why The Nationals Could Cover The Spread
On paper, many bettors or analysts may not be giving the ‘Nats that much of a chance to come away victorious in this one, but with Washington currently sitting as a +1.5 run underdog, there is still a decent chance that the Nationals can take care of business on this Saturday evening.
For starters, the most important aspect that Washington needs to take care of is a similar recipe that they were able to cook up in their win over the Giants yesterday. Alas, this strategy includes jumping on the Giants early at the plate. On Friday, the Nationals scored all five of their runs in the first five innings of the game.
While this has largely been a season to forget if you're a Nationals fan, there have still been some lone bright spots including the impressive play of right-fielder Lane Thomas. In 95 games played, Thomas is slashing a rock-solid .292 batting average with a team-high 16 home runs and 52 RBIs. If the Nationals are going to prolong the Giants' losing ways, then expect Thomas to once again have a day at the plate.
Final Giants-Nationals Prediction & Pick
Fortunately for San Francisco, overcoming the dominating prowess of Logan Webb will be too difficult for the Nationals to come to terms with. Hammer the Giants to snap their losing streak and cover the spread over a lesser opponent.
Final Giants-Nationals Prediction & Pick: Giants -1.5 (-114)
