SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: Having dropped four straight following their seven-game winning streak, the Giants will try to avoid being swept in the District this afternoon in the series finale of this three-game series…this series loss is just the third road series loss by the Giants since May 15…the last time the Giants were swept in a three-game series here in D.C. was July 3-5, 2015.
GRINDING IT OUT…:Today marks SF’s 10th straight day with a game out of the All-Star break…they won’t enjoy an off day until Thursday later this week in between series on their next homestand…in total, SF is playing 13 straight games out of the break without a day off.
THE LAST TIME: SF has not been swept in a road series of three games or more this season…the last time the Giants were swept in such a series was a three-game series at Arizona from July 25-27, which was also a part of the club’s trip right out of the All-Star break…SF went 0-7 on that trip through Los Angeles-NL (0-4) and Arizona (0-3).
A TALE OF TWO TRIPS…: The Giants won the first five games of this 11-game road trip but have since dropped their last four…below is a breakdown of the two streaks.
NO MARGIN FOR ERROR…: SF has gone 8-9 this month but has had a tough month at the plate while they have been missing some key regular pieces in Mitch Haniger (went down in mid-June) and Thairo Estrada (went down in late June) while other pieces of the offense have been out for shorter periods of time during that stretch as well…below is a monthly offensive breakdown for the Giants this season…the Giants .630 OPS this month is 29th of 30 teams in MLB…only the Pirates (.619) have a lower OPS this month than the Giants… similarly, the Giants 3.47 runs/game are second-fewest in the Majors just ahead of the Rays (3.41).
TOUGH SLEDDING: With last night’s defeat the Giants are now 26-22 (.542) versus teams that are currently below the .500 mark…the .542 win percentage is 20th of 30 MLB teams…in total, the Giants have lost 15 series on the year…of those 15, seven have been to teams that are currently not at .500.
ROCK N’ JOC: OF Joc Pederson doubled twice yesterday and is 3-for-6 in the series thus far with all three hits going for extra bases…in 20 career games at Nationals Park, Pederson has posted a .968 OPS.
WHEN THERE’S A WIL(MER): IF Wilmer Flores has had a nice road trip thus far for SF, going 10-for-24 (.417) with three doubles, four homers, seven RBI, seven runs scored, three walks and one strikeout…most of that damage was done in the four-game series in Cincinnati where Flores homered four times…he 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 1.157 OPS in that span (28 games).
I’M JUST THE OPENER…: LHP Scott Alexander will open this afternoon for the Giants, marking his second time doing so this year and sixth time since joining SF late last year… SF has found success when using openers this year, going 11-3 in the 14 games opened by either Alexander, RHP John Brebbia (currently on the IL) and RHP Ryan Walker…SF has won its last seven games when using an opener to get to a bulk innings/bullpen game dating to June 11.
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.
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 10th-most in the Majors.
THIS IS THE LAST STOP ON THIS TRAIN..ERR TRIP: Following today’s game, the Giants will fly to Detroit to take on the Tigers tomorrow at 1:10 p.m. ET / 10:10 a.m. PT…the game is the make-up of the rainout that occurred April 16 after both teams waited over five hours through some weather…following tomorrow’s game, the Giants will return home to open up a nine-game homestand beginning Tuesday night vs. Oakland… after this trip concludes, the Giants do not leave the state of California travel-wise for nearly three weeks.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
OH, WHAT A NIGHT
The Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants, 10-1, on Saturday night behind a 14-hit offensive attack and a strong outing by Josiah Gray (7.0 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 4 SO).
- On his bobblehead night, CJ Abrams clubbed his 10th home run of the season as a part of a two-hit effort.
- The Nationals welcome another National League West opponent – the Colorado Rockies – to Nationals Park for a three-game series starting Monday.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
The Nationals are 12-11 (.522) since June 24…With a win today, the Nationals would secure their first series sweep of the season and their first sweep since June 14-16, 2021 vs. Pittsburgh.
- Washington last swept San Francisco, Aug. 5-7, 2019 at San Francisco and last swept them in D.C., July 3-5, 2015.
LEADING MAN
Reigning NL Player of the Week CJ Abrams has reached safely in a career-high 11 straight games and has hit safely in 10 of the 11 since being moved to leadoff spot on July 7…He is hitting .413/.449/.674 during the streak, going 19-for-46 during the streak.
- Beyond the lasts 10 games, he is hitting .361 with a .410 on-base percentage (5 BB, 3 HBP), a .588 slugging percentage (6 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR) and is 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts over his last 26 games.
- He has stolen 16 consecutive bases without being caught… Abrams was last caught stealing on May 3 vs. Chicago.
BACKSTOP BAT
Keibert Ruiz is 13-for-28 (.464) with four doubles, two homers, six RBI, three walks, one stolen base and six runs scored during his career-best eight-game hitting streak…He’s reached base safely in 17 of 32 plate appearances (.531) during the streak.
CANDY CAN DO IT
Jeimer Candelario is third in the National League with 27 doubles and is tied for seventh with 44 extra-base hits…With 27 doubles and 15 home runs in 91 games, he’s already surpassed his 2022 totals (19 2B, 13 HR in 124 games).
OK, KYLE
Kyle Finnegan has two saves, four holds and has pitched to a 1.06 ERA (2 ER/17.0 IP) with a .161 opponents’ average (9-for-56) in his last 14 appearances.
- He’s set a new career high and is tied for 10th in the NL with 13 saves this season.
- 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 1.83 ERA (8 ER/39.1 IP) with 40 strikeouts and three home runs allowed in 36 games.
LANE TRAIN
Lane Thomas ranks in the National League in hits (4th, 113), average (5th, .290), doubles (6th, 25) and runs (10th, 65).
- He is tied for second in the National League with eight outfield assists.
NOBODY SHUTS OUT THE NATS
The Nationals have not been shut out since April 19 vs. Baltimore, a streak of 80 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 62 runs in the first inning this season, the fifth-most in Major League Baseball.
- Only the Atlanta Braves (100), Los Angeles Dodgers (73), Houston Astros (68) and San Diego Padres (66) have scored more runs in the first inning this season.
STARTING PITCHER – #1 MACKENZIE GORE
Left-handed starter was acquired by Washington at the 2022 Trade Deadline…Entered 2020 as the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball and 2021 as the No. 10 prospect, according to Baseball America …Was cited by Baseball America as having the “Best Fastball” in San Diego’s system entering the 2022 season and the “Best Slider” in 2021 and 2018…Was the 2017 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year, just the second baseball player to win the award at the time (Dylan Bundy in 2011; Bobby Witt Jr. in 2019).
LAST START
Allowed five earned runs on six hits, walked two and struck out six hitters over 6.1 innings on July 17 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field…He earned the win in the Nationals’ 7-5 victory.
vs. SAN FRANCISCO
Is 1-1 with an 8.68 ERA (9 ER/ 9.1 IP) in two career appearances against the Giants…In his most recent start against San Francisco, he allowed eight earned runs on eight hits, walked one and struck out two hitters in 3.1 innings on July 10, 2022 while with the Padres.
RANKS
Gore ranks 12th in MLB (4th in the NL) with 10.69 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (min. 95.0 IP).
- He ranks among NL lefties (min. 95.0 IP) in strikeouts per 9.0 (2nd, 10.69), strikeouts (3rd, 114), opponents’ slugging percentage (6th, .446) and ERA (7th, 4.59).
SWING AND A MISS
Gore ranks sixth among all MLB left-handed pitchers with 241 swings and misses this season, according to MLB Statcast…On May 28 at Kansas City, he induced a career-high 23 swings and misses in 7.0 innings.
TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE
Gore’s curveball boasts a 40.5% whiff rate (swing&miss/total swings), 12th among all MLB curveballs (min. 50 PA) and the third-highest among MLB lefties.
EARNING THE CAPITAL K IN
MacKenzie Gore’s 114 strikeouts through 19 starts are the fifth-most in Nationals history (2005-pres.) by any pitcher in his first 19 starts with the club behind Max Scherzer (158; 2015), Patrick Corbin (139; 2019), Stephen Strasburg (130; 2010) and Gio González (129; 2012).
- Gore’s 10.69 strikeouts per 9.0 innings would rank eighth in a season in Nationals history (2005-pres.).
