The Washington Nationals (15-20, 22-13 RL, 14-19-2 O/U) and the San Francisco Giants (15-19, 16-18 RL, 16-17-1 O/U) conclude a three-game NL series on Wednesday afternoon. The Nationals will send Josiah Gray to the mound. The Giants will reply with Sean Manaea. The Nats posted a 5-1 win on Monday.
Josiah Gray will make his eighth start of the season. Gray was competitive in his latest start, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings against the Diamondbacks, and was charged with the loss. The young starter has been one of the few bright spots this season as develops, posting a 3.03 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP accompanied by a 2-5 record in 38.2 innings pitched. Gray has made two career outings against the Giants with success, conceding four runs with a 1-0 record in 10 innings.
The Nationals are concluding a six-game road trek in this one. They battled to avoid a sweep against the Diamondbacks on the weekend. The offense was clicking, scoring 17 runs in that series while allowing 16 runs, and collecnted five runs in Monday's win. The young Nats have lost two of their last three series.
Depending on who you ask, we batted around in the 1st inning pic.twitter.com/IF0voetZVZ
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 9, 2023
Lane Thomas has been a tough out, collecting seven RBIs along with a 1.09 OPS in his last eight games. The 27-year-old outfielder now has 17 RBIs accompanied by a .736 OPS on the season Thomas hit .294 with three RBIs against the Giants last season. Victor Robles is out of the lineup.
The Nationals are scoring an average of only 3.91 runs per game, pegging them 26th. The pitching staff has recorded a 4.42 team ERA, placing them 17th.