The Washington Nationals (43-34 SU, +1.86 Units) remain one of the hottest teams in the bigs with nine wins in 10 games heading into Wednesday night.
They'll face the San Francisco Giants (42-36 SU, +2.16 Units), a team which could be headed down a dark path, on Friday.
ODDS ANALYSIS
This stretch has been flat out awesome for Washington. The team has picked up 8.43 units for bettors since the winning began on June 19, though it should be noted that all that has successfully done is gotten the club back to just above the breakeven line for bettors on the season.
Still, that 22-14 record at home is no joke, particularly against a team which could be very tired by the time it gets to D.C. this weekend.
PITCHING MATCHUP
The Giants have big pitching problems right now. Tim Lincecum has arm problems, Tim Hudson has pitched horribly, and both Matt Cain and Jake Peavy have been out as well.
The good news is that Cain should be back on Thursday, while Peavy is expected to start on Friday.
Here's the bad news, though. We're not really sure what to expect out of Peavy in this game, especially just one night after Cain comes back from the DL as well.
Peavy hasn't pitched since April due to back problems, and though he was effective at the end of last year for the Giants, he has woeful in his first two starts of the year before landing on the disabled list.
Gio Gonzalez will oppose Peavy on Friday night, and he should be eager to get back on the mound. Rain stopped his last start against Pittsburgh after just two innings, and the stats from that night were scrapped from the record books.
That said, if you include those two scoreless frames Gonzalez threw, he would have thrown up nine straight zeroes in his last two starts, his best stretch of the year.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I was signed back to do what I did here last year. I fully expect to do that. It's been tough for me, sustaining an injury that has kept me down now for quite a while now, a few months. It's tough to stay in good spirits when you're not healthy watching your team play well at times and go through some low stretches. That's when you really want to be out there." – Giants starter Jake Peavy on his injured back which cost him nearly three full months of the season
SITUATIONAL BETTING
Bullpen troubles for San Fran could certainly be a possibility in this one. The Giants have used their pen a ton in the last week (24.2 innings in just seven games), and the results haven't been good. The team has a 5.95 ERA in that stretch and a FIP of 5.13.
Peavy will probably top out at six innings in this start, and that's a lot of innings to be counting on a suspect Giants bullpen for sure.
PROP TALK
All eyes are going to be on Bryce Harper, but it's actually another member of the Washington outfield, Denard Span who has our attention. He could see the plate five, if not six times in this game with Peavy on the bump, and he has two hits in six of his last nine games dating back to June 16.
Span has also scored a run in 10 straight and 13 out of 14 games he has played.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
You probably get the drift here. Gonzalez has had extra time to prep for this start and is hot, while Peavy is a massive question mark waiting to happen with a bullpen behind him which has been a complete wreck.
Unless the Giants plan on scoring at least five times in this one, we don't see this being anything but a big fat 'L', perhaps by a rather large amount as well.
Washington 8, San Francisco 3
The baseball betting odds for this Friday game will first be available at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this televised baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The game between the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals will start at 6:05 p.m. ET on Friday, July 3, 2015 at Nationals Park in Washington DC. You can watch the contest live on ESPN.
