Nationals vs. Giants: MLB Picks

Washington ran away with the opener of this series Monday night 14-2, jumping on Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong during a seven-run third inning and piling on from there. Which team are we taking to the MLB betting shops tonight?

These two teams have split the first two games of this series, Washington winning 14-2 Monday, and San Fran taking Tuesday's game 6-1.

So the Nationals' lead in the NL East sits at 4.5 games over Atlanta, while the Giants are tied for the lead in the NL West with Los Angeles.

Wednesday's Arms Race

It's a matchup of a former two-time Cy Young winner against a guy who might win a couple of those himself as Tim Lincecum (6-12, 5.35) goes for the Giants against Stephen Strasburg (13-5, 2.90) for the Nats in Wednesday's series rubber match.

Lincecum is only eight-for-23 on quality starts this year, but is working off of three in a row. Last Friday he gave up three runs through seven innings against the Rockies, and over his last three starts he's allowed just five ER in 19 innings. 

But in his only start this year against Washington Lincecum got rocked for seven ER on nine hits in just 3 1/3 innings of a 9-3 San Francisco loss back in early July. 

On the other side of this matchup Strasburg is 15-for-23 in quality starts this season, and four-for-six since the All-Star break. Last Friday he held Arizona to one run on one hit through six innings, and just before that he held Miami scoreless on three hits through six innings. So Strasburg is giving the Nats solid work, although he isn't going very deep in games. 

Strasburg hasn't pitched against San Francisco since 2010. 

Wednesday's Betting Odds and Trends 

As of Wednesday morning Washington could be had at -116 at Matchbook, while the Giants could be found at +113 at a couple of places, including Pinnacle.

Matchbook was also offering the Nats at +152 giving the run and a half on the run line. 

And most baseball betting outlets were listing the total on Wednesday's game at 6.5.

Early action on this game has seen about 60 percent of the action on the side come in on the Nationals, and 65 percent of play on the total come in on the 'over.'

Free MLB Pick

Alright, this series has already given us a couple of headaches. Vogelsong let us down Monday, while the Nats couldn't get anything off of Bumgarner Tuesday. As for Wednesday, while Lincecum has been better as of late, Strasburg has been much more consistent. So we'll go with Washington to take this series finale.

The Nationals won as +115 underdogs on Monday's MLB betting board, and the game, or should we say the Nats, played 'over' the total of 6.5. 

So Washington, winners of nine of its last 10 games, now leads the NL East by 5.5 games over second-place Atlanta. The Nats are also 2.5 games up on the Reds in the battle for the best record in the National League. 

San Fran, meanwhile, with Monday's loss dropped back into a tie for first in the NL West with the Dodgers.

Washington now leads the season series with San Francisco four games to none.

Tuesday's Arms Update 

Tuesday's game gives us what should be a great pitching matchup as lefty Madison Bumgarner (12-7, 3.08) goes for San Fran against Jordan Zimmerman (9-6, 2.35) for Washington.

Bumgarner is 15-for-23 on quality starts this season, and five for his last six. Most recently Bumgarner gave up three runs and three hits in six innings against St. Louis last Thursday, and since the All-Star break he's allowed 11 earned runs over 39 innings.

But Bumgarner's worst outing of this season came in his one start against Washington, back in July, when he got clipped for seven runs on nine hits, including three homers, in five innings of a 9-4 Giants defeat.

Zimmerman, meanwhile, is 18-for-23 on quality starts this year, and 12 for his last 13. His last time out Big Z held Houston scoreless on three hits through six innings, a nice rebound effort after giving up five runs in five innings against Miami just before that.

Since the All-Star break Zimmerman has held opponents to six ER through 35 innings. 

In his one start this year against the Giants Zimmerman got a win, allowing one ER on seven hits through six innings of a 9-3 Nats victory back in July. 

Tuesday's Betting Odds and Trends

As of Tuesday AM the best price we could find on the Giants was the -119 being offered at Pinnacle Sports, while the Nats could be played at +114 at Matchbook. 

Also, most online sportbooks are listing the total on Tuesday's game at 6.5. 

Early action on Tuesday's game has seen about 55 percent of play on the side come down the underdog,  Washington, while 55 percent of play on the total has come in on the 'over.' 

Free MLB Pick

Hey, when we're wrong, we don't mess around; we go all the way. We just didn't realize it was the Redskins who were going to show up Monday night and put a couple of early touchdowns on the board. At least it didn't cost us all that much. As for Tuesday the Nationals are the hottest team in baseball, they own an edge in the pitching matchup and they're underdogs on the MLB betting line. So we'll go with Washington to take Game 2 of this series. 

Nationals-Giants Series Set-Up 

Washington just took two of three games in Arizona over the weekend, missing out on the sweep and having an eight-game winning streak snapped by a 7-4 loss Sunday. 

Meanwhile, the Giants just took two of three games from Colorado over the weekend, winning Sunday's series rubber match 9-6, rallying for five runs in the bottom of the eighth. 

So Washington, at 71-44, leads the NL East by 4.5 games over second-place Atlanta, and the Nats are two games up on Cincinnati in the battle for the best record in the National League. 

San Francisco, on the other hand, at 63-52, leads the NL West by a game over second-place Los Angeles. 

Monday's Pitching Matchup 

Ryan Vogelsong (10-5, 2.27) will start Monday's series opener for the Giants vs. lefty Gio Gonzalez (14-6, 3.32) for the Nats. 

Vogelsong is a sparkling 18-for-21 on quality starts this season, and 12 for his last 13. His last time out, Vogelsong held St. Louis scoreless on three hits through seven innings of a 15-0 San Francisco whitewash. And since the All-Star break, Vogelsong has given up only seven earned runs through 32 1/3 innings. 

It's almost hard to believe, but this will be Vogelsong's first-ever start vs. the Nationals. 

On the other side of this pitcher's duel, Gonzalez is 14-for-23 on quality starts this season, but only three-for-six since the All-Star break. Most recently, Gonzalez tossed a complete game vs. Houston, allowing three runs on nine hits in a 4-3 Nationals victory. But over his last three starts, he's given up 11 earned runs on 23 hits in 23 innings. 

Gonzalez hasn't faced San Francisco this season; last year, pitching for Oakland, Gonzo started once against the Giants, and held them to one ER on eight hits through 6 2/3 innings. 

Washington is 17-6 in games Gonzalez has started this season, while San Fran is 15-6 in games started by Vogelsong. 

Monday's Betting Odds and Trends 

As of early Monday morning, most MLB odds makers were listing San Francisco at around -125 for Monday night's game, with an OVER/UNDER of 6.5. 

Early betting on Monday's game has seen action on the side split just about right down the middle, while 55 percent of play on the total has come in on the OVER.

The Nationals are a ML-best 39-22 on the road this season, while the Giants are 34-24 at home. 

In the only previous meeting this season between these teams, the Nats swept three games from the Giants in DC back in early July by scores of 9-3, 9-4 and 6-5. 

On the MLB futures betting market 5Dimes is listing Washington at +330 to win the National League pennant this fall, with San Fran getting +475. 

Personnel Update 

The Giants lineup might get a boost Monday as IF Pablo Sandoval, who's missed the last few weeks with a bad hamstring, is eligible to come off the DL. 

Washington, meanwhile, has been playing without SS Ian Desmond, but they've managed to go 17-5 without him. 

Free MLB Pick

This is a tough one. Monday gives us a great pitching matchup to play with, and we'll be staying up late to watch. And while we admire what Gonzalez has done this season for the Nats, we're big fans of Vogelsong. So we're going to lay the short price Monday and back the Giants.