SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Giants have reached the third leg of their four-city road trip as they open up a three-game series here tonight against a fresh opponent in the Washington Nationals… the Giants have gone 5-2 thus far on their 11-game, four-city road trip (3-0 in Pittsburgh and 2-2 in Cincinnati)…SF won the first five games of this trip before dropping the last two to the Reds at Great American Ball Park Wednesday and Thursday…this weekend’s series will wrap the season series with the Nats…Washington took two-of-three from the Giants at Oracle Park in early May.
THE DISTRICT SLEEPS ALONE TONIGHT: SF swept a three-game series here last season and has gone 2-1-1 in four series here since 2018 with the lone series loss coming in 2019…in the three-game sweep last year the Giants recorded double-digit hits in each of the three games…it was the fifth time since Nationals Park opened that a road team came in and swept a series there with 10+ hits in each game.
ROCK N’ JOC: Speaking of that series last season, Giants OF Joc Pederson was red-hot here in D.C…Pederson went 5-for-7 with two homers, four RBI, one double and three runs scored…in 18 career games here he’s logged an .872 OPS.
ROAD RULES CHALLENGE: SF is now 28-21 (.571) on the road this season after consecutive losses in the final two games in Cincinnati…the Giants .571 road winning percentage is sixth-best in the Majors entering play today and fourth-best in the NL behind the Braves (30-14, .682), D-Backs (28-19, .596) and Reds (27-20, .574)…since May 15, however, SF has gone 21-8 on the road with its .724 road winning percentage in that time ranking second-best in the Majors behind the Reds
(21- 7, .750)…since May 15, the Giants are 6-2-1 in their nine road series with their two series losses coming at Toronto and at the Mets in late June.
WHEN THERE’S A WIL(MER): IF Wilmer Flores had a nice series in Cincinnati, homering in three of the four games while going 7-for-15 (.467) with seven RBI, two walks and five runs scored…six of his seven hits went for extra bases (two doubles, four homers)…Flores has been raking since the beginning of June, going 31-for-80 (.388) with seven doubles, six homers and 15 RBI…the Venezuela native has logged a 1.152 OPS in that span (27 games).
NAH, WE DIDN’T TAKE THE ACELA: Speaking of Flores, he’s one of three former Mets who have played a fair amount of games here at Nationals Park in their careers…Flores owns a .764 career OPS in 34 games here, batting .304 with three homers and 16 RBI…OF Michael Conforto has enjoyed the most success here in terms of OPS…in 36 games here he has an. 843 OPS with five doubles, eight homers and 26 RBI…IF J.D. Davis, who’s been battling a stomach virus the last two days, has posted a .722 OPS in 23 games here.
SADDLE UP, BOYS: This 11-game trip is SF’s longest of the season and one of two trips this year where they will visit three or more cities…the other three-city, 10-game trip this year comes in September when SF visits Colorado (four games), Arizona (two games) and the Dodgers (four games) from September 14-24…below is a look at some of SF’s recent three-city trips and how they’ve done.
CATCH US IF YOU CAN: Since May 19, which is the day that C Patrick Bailey made his MLB debut, the Giants have gotten a collective .779 OPS from the catching position between Bailey and fellow rookie C Blake Sabol…that .779 OPS from their catchers in that time is sixth-best in the Majors…SF’s 42 RBIs between Bailey and Sabol in that time are tied for most of any catching group in the Majors with Texas.
SLING SHOT, ENGAGED: C Patrick Bailey threw out Elly De La Cruz stealing second base yesterday in SF’s loss to the Reds… Bailey has been credited with 15 caught stealings since his debut on May 19…since his debut, the 15 caught stealings are most in the Majors…Oakland’s Shea Langeliers is second with 13…Bailey’s 1.87 pop time to second base is second best in the Majors this year, shades ahead of PHI’s Garrett Stubs… PHI’s J.T. Realmuto leads the majors at 1.81.
THE (D)OVAL OFFICE: RHP Camilo Doval became the first pitcher in the Majors this year to reach the 30-save mark with his two saves on Tuesday…the 26-year-old leads the Majors in that category…his 45 appearances are tied for third-most in the Majors…the last three Giants closers to reach the 30-save mark in a season were: Jake McGee (31, 2021), Will Smith (34, 2019) and Santiago Casilla (31 in 2016 and 38 in 2015).
A LOOK AHEAD: The Giants next six games are all against teams that are currently below .500 (Nationals, Tigers and A’s)…SF has gone 26-20 (.565) vs. teams that are currently below .500 this season…that .565 winning percentage is 18th of 30 MLB teams.
TODAY’S STARTER – ALEX WOOD LHP #57
2023 RECORD: 4-3, 4.53 ERA
WITH THE GIANTS: In his third year with SF…signed a two-year, $25 million contract with San Francisco in the 2021-2022 offseason after a strong performance on a one-year deal in 2021.
TODAY’S GAME: Today marks Wood’s second straight start after coming out of the bullpen in his previous three outings…Wood has started 10 of his 14 games this season.
LAST OUTING: Wood struck out just one in his last start at Pittsburgh on July 16, allowing one run on five hits and three walks, skating through damage to get through 3.2 innings…it marked Wood’s first time starting since June 22 at San Diego…he hasn’t completed 5.0 innings as a starter since June 17 at Los AngelesNL, his first start off the IL.
VS. WASHINGTON: The southpaw was on the injured list when the Nationals came to town in May…he last faced Washington twice in a week span last season (at WAS on April 23, vs. WAS on April 29), going 1-1 with a 6.30 ERA (7er, 10.0ip) with eight strikeouts… OF Corey Dickerson (.429, 3-for-7) and OF Lane Thomas (.571, 4-for-7) both have strong histories of success vs. Wood, albeit both being small samples…the lone Washington player with a home run vs. Wood is C Riley Adams, who is 1-for-2…he’s pitched well against the Nats in his career, positing a 3.17 ERA against them in 15 career starts.
IN THE DISTRICT: Wood has enjoyed success pitching here at Nationals Park, logging a 2.85 ERA in eight career starts here…five of the eight outings here have been quality starts…he’s never allowed more than three runs in a start here while never pitching fewer than 4.2 innings.
INJURIES (X2): Wood has been placed on the injured list twice this season…he first missed 21 games from April 19-May 12 with a left hamstring strain sustained on April 18 at Miami…he later missed 14 games in the first half of June with a low back strain.
FIGHTER OF THE NIGHTMAN: In eight night games, Wood is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA (9er, 30.0ip), 1.23 WHIP, 32 strikeouts and a .204 opposing batting average (22×108)…in six day games, Wood is 1-2 with a 6.85 ERA (18er, 23.2ip), 1.90 WHIP, 18 strikeouts and a .323 opposing batting average (32×99)…teams have posted a .665 OPS in night games vs. Wood compared to a much higher .928 OPS in day games.
WALK IN THE PARK: Free passes have hurt Wood this year, having walked at least three batters in three of his last five outings… his 11.5% walk rate, which is a career-high, is 4.6% higher than his career rate (6.9%), and more than double his mark from last year (5.4%)…the Nationals are tied with Chicago-AL for the lowest walk rate in MLB (6.6%).
LEFT ON READ: Washington has crushed left-handed pitching this year, with their .774 OPS ranking seventh in MLB, their .278 batting average ranking fourth, and their 141 RBI ranking third.
HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER: Wood throws his sinker 48.4% of the time…the Nationals have excelled at hitting sinkers this season, with their .313 batting average against the pitch ranking fourth in MLB, and their .809 OPS ranking tied for eighth.
SLIDE ON OVER: This season marks the second straight in which Wood’s slider has underperformed according to Baseball Savant…Wood’s slider has a -8 run value after posting a -7 the year prior…the Nationals have not hit well against sliders, with their 24.3% strikeout rate against the pitch ranking sixth-highest in MLB, and their .638 OPS ranking 19th.
FIND THAT 3RD: The third out has been hard to find for Wood this year…opponents have a .308/.438/.508 slash line against him with 17 of his 30 runs scoring with two outs…with two outs and runners in scoring position, opponents are batting .357 (10×28)…opponents’ 1.071 OPS with two outs and runners in scoring position against Wood is fifth-highest in MLB (min 35 batters faced).
WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
BACK IN THE DISTRICT
The Washington Nationals open a six-game homestand on Friday night with a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants… The Nationals welcome another National League West opponent – the Colorado Rockies – to Nationals Park for a three-game series starting Monday.
CANDY CAN DO IT
Jeimer Candelario is third in the National League with 27 doubles and is seventh with 44 extra-base hits…With 27 doubles and 15 home runs in 89 games, he’s already surpassed his 2022 totals (19 2B, 13 HR in 124 games).
- Candelario is hitting .296/.361/.612 over his last 26 games… He has 10 doubles, seven homers, 16 RBI, seven walks, four stolen bases and 19 runs scored during this stretch…He has hit safely in 21 of the 26 games.
- He ranks fourth in the National League with a .612 slugging percentage since June 15, while his 17 extra-base hits are tied for fourth.
BACKSTOP BAT
Keibert Ruiz is 10-for-21 (.476) with three doubles, two homers, four RBI, three walks, one stolen base and five runs scored in his last six games…He’s reached base safely in 13 of 24 plate appearances (.542) and has hit safely in all six games.
LEADING MAN
Reigning NL Player of the Week CJ Abrams has reached safely in a career-high nine straight games and has hit safely in eight of the nine since being moved to leadoff spot on July 7…He is hitting 15- for-37 (.405) with a .450 on-base percentage and a .568 slugging percentage during the streak.
- Beyond the lasts nine games, he is hitting .352 with a .406 on-base percentage (5 BB, 3 HBP), a .534 slugging percentage (6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR) and is 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts over his last 24 games.
- He has stolen 15 consecutive bases without being caught…Abrams was last caught stealing on May 3 vs. Chicago.
NOBODY SHUTS OUT THE NATS
The Nationals have not been shut out since April 19 vs. Baltimore, a streak of 78 straight games…It is the longest active streak in Major League Baseball and the second-longest streak this season (87 G, Arizona, March 30-July 5).
TOP OF THE HOUR
The Nationals have scored 60 runs in the first inning this season, the sixth-most in Major League Baseball.
- Only the Atlanta Braves (100), Los Angeles Dodgers (73), Houston Astros (67), San Diego Padres (63) and Tampa Bay Rays (61) have scored more runs in the first inning this season.
OK, KYLE
Kyle Finnegan has one save, four holds and has pitched to a 1.13 ERA (2 ER/16.0 IP) with a .170 opponents’ average (9-for-53) in his last 13 appearances.
- He recorded his career-high 12th save on Monday at Chicago (NL).
- Finnegan surrendered seven earned runs and three home runs in his first three outings…Since the next outing on April 7 at Colorado, he has pitched to a 1.88 ERA (8 ER/38.1 IP) with 40 strikeouts and three home runs allowed in 35 games.
STARTING PITCHER – #74 JAKE IRVIN
Tall right-handed starter was added to Washington’s 40-man roster following the 2022 season…Has the “Best Control” in Washington’s system, per Baseball America…Joins other University of Oklahoma pitchers Cade Cavalli (2020 Draft) and Jake Bennett (2022 Draft) in the Nationals organization….Is the 25th pitcher drafted/signed and developed by the Washington Nationals to start a game for Washington (2005-pres.).
LAST START
Allowed four earned runs on six hits, walked one and struck out three hitters in 3.0 innings of work against St. Louis…He had a no decision in the Nationals’ 9-6 defeat at Busch Stadium.
vs. SAN FRANSISCO
Made his first career appearance against the Giants on May 8…He threw 6.1 scoreless innings, allowed four hits, walked three and struck out five hitters at Oracle Park…He took the win in the Nationals’ 5-1 victory.
RECENCY BIAS
Since having his turn in the rotation skipped in early June for rest, Irvin has pitched to a 4.11 ERA (14 ER/30.2 IP) with 21 strikeouts and nine walks allowed in his last six starts…He has allowed seven extra-base hits (2 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR) while holding opponents to a .265 average…His best start came on June 22 vs. Arizona when he allowed one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk in 6.0 innings.
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
Irvin is 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA (11 ER/20.0 IP) in four road outings…He has yet to make a road start east of the Mississippi River (at SFG, at LAD, at SEA, at STL).
FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE WIN
Earned his first Major League win on May 8 at San Francisco…Tossed 6.1 shutout innings with five strikeouts, three walks and four hits allowed…With the outing, Irvin became the first pitcher in Nationals history (2005- pres.) to finish one of his first two career starts with at least 6.0 scoreless innings.
FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE START
Made his Major League debut at home against the Chicago Cubs…Allowed one run on two hits in 4.1 IP with four walks and three strikeouts…Took a no decision but the Nationals won the game 2-1.
THE STORY OF HIS CURVEBALL
As told to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post: “To Irvin, baseball was more about having fun than plotting a future. He learned his curveball grip by messing around in the backyard. He honed the pitch by throwing it from shortstop to first base during practice, a way of messing with his teammates.”
- Opposing batters are 10-for-69 (.145) with 16 strikeouts against his curveball…The pitch ranks among all MLB curveballs (min. 50 PA) in average (5th, .145) and slugging percentage (8th, .266).
