The San Francisco Giants (54-43, 50-47 RL, 45-51-3 O/U) clash with the Washington Nationals (38-58, 53-43 RL, 47-45-4 O/U) in the first of a three-game NL series on Friday evening. The Giants will give the starting nod to Alex Wood. The Nationals will counter with Jake Irvin. The Nationals lead the season series 2-1.
Alex Wood will open the series on Friday. Wood allowed just one run in 3.2 innings against the Pirates last weekend, leading to a no-decision in a game the Giants won. The veteran does not pitch deep into games. The longest he usually goes is five innings. Wood has been subpar, posting a 4.53 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP accompanied by a 4-3 record in 53.2 innings. Wood has contained the Nationals in his career, amassing a solid 3.17 ERA and a 6-5 record.
San Francisco continues to excel. They have won seven of their last nine games including a road sweep of the Pirates and two wins in four road meetings against the Reds. They are on a challenging 10-game road trip. They stand at 5-2 on the trek so far. The Giants are only 1.5 games behind the Dodgers atop the division and are 7-3 in their last ten clashes.
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Michael Conforto is delivering, collecting nine RBIs on the month. The 30-year-old slugger is having a respectable season, clubbing 13 homers with 51 RBIs and a .750 OPS. He is 1 for 8 with two RBIs against the Nationals this season. Lamonte Wade Jr. and J.D. Davis are questionabe.
The Giants are posting an average of 4.69 runs on the year, landing them 13th. The pitching has been their greatest strength recently and enters with a 3.88 team ERA, good for ninth.