First pitch is 8:45 PM CT on the bay. Logan Webb (3-4, 4.25) draws Miles Mikolas (1-5, 6.39), and on paper this is the kind of mismatch the market is treating it as — San Francisco is -153 at home with the total sitting at 7.5.
Webb is the reason the Giants have any pulse right now. His last time out he carried a no-hit bid into the 7th against Milwaukee, finished with 7 shutout innings on 95 pitches in a 1-0 win, and that was only his 2nd start back from a knee issue. He looks fully back, which matters for a Giants club that had been 0-24 in games where they scored 2 or fewer before that night.
Mikolas is the wild card. The ERA is ugly and the record is uglier, but the Nationals have quietly been hiding him behind an opener and the results have followed — a 3.48 ERA over his last 7 appearances and his best outing of the year came against Minnesota. Whether Washington uses an opener tonight or lets him start cold against a Giants lineup that just hung 18 on the Cubs is the actual question.
Records lie a little here. The Giants come in 4-1 in their last 5 and just took a 2-1 squeaker out of Wrigley, but they're still 27-39. The Nats are .500 at 33-33 and just got handled by Arizona on Sunday after walking the desert with a 14-1 demolition on Friday. Tony Vitello's first big-league group remains a puzzle even to itself.
- Day-To-DayTyler Stuart SP — no
- Day-To-DayTyler Baum DH — Baum has not pitched this year due an undisclosed injury.
- Day-To-DayTravis Sykora SP — Sykora will undergo a UCL reconstruction on his right elbow in two weeks, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
- Day-To-DayJarlin Susana RP — Susana underwent surgery last week to repair a right lat tear, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
- 15-Day-ILJake Irvin SP — Nationals manager Blake Butera said Monday that Irvin (shoulder) remains shut down from throwing, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILDJ Herz SP — Herz (elbow) was sent to the FCL Nationals on Friday to begin a rehab assignment.
- 60-Day-ILTrevor Williams SP — Williams (elbow) threw a simulated game at Nationals Park ahead of Tuesday's loss to the Marlins, MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILMax Kranick RP — The Nationals transferred Kranick (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Monday.
- 10-Day-ILHeliot Ramos LF — Ramos (quadriceps) will begin a hitting progression at the Giants' spring training complex in Arizona on Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILHarrison Bader CF — Bader isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Colorado, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 15-Day-ILMatt Gage RP — The Giants placed Gage on the 15-day injured list with knee inflammation Wednesday, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- 15-Day-ILTyler Mahle SP — The Giants placed Mahle on the 15-day injured list Friday, retroactive to Wednesday, due to a left hamstring strain, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
- 60-Day-ILJoel Peguero RP — The Giants placed Peguero on the 60-day injured list Monday due to a left hamstring strain, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 60-Day-ILJared Oliva CF — Oliva (wrist) started at designated hitter and went 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, a double, an RBI and a run scored in Triple-A Sacramento's 6-4 loss to Reno on Saturday.
- 60-Day-ILReiver Sanmartin RP — Sanmartin (hip) tossed a scoreless inning in Triple-A Sacramento's 11-6 win over Sugar Land on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILJason Foley RP — Foley (shoulder) earned a hold in Triple-A Sacramento's 6-5 loss to Round Rock on Wednesday, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning.
The injury sheet is where the Giants really get squeezed. Heliot Ramos, Harrison Bader, and Tyler Mahle are all parked on the IL, and the bullpen is a triage unit — Birdsong, Rodriguez, Butto, Foley and Wick are all on the 60-day. Washington's rotation isn't healthy either (Irvin, Herz, Williams, Gray all out), which is half the reason Mikolas is even getting the ball.
Lean: Webb at home against a Mikolas-led staff is the right side on talent, but -153 isn't free money and the under at 7.5 feels like the cleaner number with a vintage Webb on the mound. Either way, you're watching to see if the Giants ace can string two of these together.