The last time the San Francisco Giants (42-38 SU, -0.09 Units) paid a visit to the Washington Nationals (43-36 SU, -1.38 Units), they won an 18-inning game in which fans from DC were running to the exits before the game was said and done with.
Now, the two teams will meet again in our nation's capital to finish up the Fourth of July weekend.
PITCHING MATCHUP
This is a really big start for Jordan Zimmerman. He has been brilliant in his last two outings, allowing a total of 12 hits in 15.2 innings, but there was clearly a lot of luck in those starts. He has had a BABIP of just .240, an unsustainably low number, and we can't imagine that he is going to continue to go through starts without walking batters.
There's a difference between pitching against the Braves as he did in both of those starts and pitching against the Giants. San Francisco quietly is third in the league in batting, setting itself up for a day which live bettors could thrive off of in a few spots against Zimmerman.
Ryan Vogelsong isn't a man we generally like to bet on because he's all over the board. He hasn't been efficient with his pitches at all this year, averaging over 16 pitches per inning, and that is surely going to limit him to a ceiling of seven innings. He is conceding far too many home runs this year (12 in 86 innings), and his velocity is way down and he is rarely touching 90 MPH.
If Vogelsong can't do that against the Nationals, even with a lineup which doesn't include the injured Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Jayson Werth, there could be issues.
ADVANCED STATS
Bryce Harper is a man of a million talents, and perhaps we should have seen this great surge of his coming in that series against the Giants last year. He went a modest 5-of-17, but he also hit three homers in that series and drove in four runs in four games. The outfielder had a double against Vogelsong in Game 4 of that series to drive in a run.
About the only knock on Harper is that he is striking out a ton. He has seven punch outs in his last five games.
However, when he makes contact with the ball, look out. In his last 21 at bats, he has put the ball in play 14 times and has seven hits to show for his work, including three doubles.
Of course, a BABIP of .500 isn't going to continue as we know, but there will be more power as well. Harper is driving the ball all over the field with ferocity, and even some of his outs have been liners that have been right at fielders. He could be in for a big day, and live bettors would be wise to not bet against the Nats when No. 34 is due up soon.
TALKING BULLPENS
The San Fran bullpen is a major question mark to us right now. This unit has pitched just one clean game in its last eight outings, and the same names are continuing to come up over and over again.
One has to wonder if George Kontos, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla, all of which have at least 35 outings under their belts this year, are just flat out tired.
Even Jean Machi has been called upon a ton of late as the fifth best reliever on this staff.
Casilla has been all over the place this year as San Fran's closer, going 20-of-24 in save opportunities, and he is coming off of a game against the Marlins in which he allowed three runs without retiring a batter to get a blown save and a loss.
Our confidence level is low right now on the Giants and their pen, so don't be surprised if you see some nice opportunities to bet against them in this game in live betting.
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker's live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
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