Starting Monday night, the Washington Nationals take on the San Francisco Giants in a four-game series that matches up the NL's hottest teams.
San Francisco still sports baseball's best record at 42-21, but the streaking Nats have won seven of their last ten and find themselves in a three-way tie atop the NL East.
The Giants are flying high after sweeping the Mets, and over the weekend the Nationals took two out of three against a worn-down Padres squad.
Snapshot:
Home: San Francisco Giants (42-21, 22-9 home)
Away: Washington Nationals (32-29, 13-14 away)
Key Stat:
As a team, the Nationals have a slugging percentage of .463 over their last nine games - and they've won seven of those.
Giants Outlook:
The Giants haven't taken their foot off the gas pedal yet this season, and they've been torching teams with a lethal combination of power and pitching. Of the four pitchers who'll be taking the mound in this series - Jake Vogelsong, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain and Tim Hudson - only Cain has been anything short of stellar.
Cain is no slouch, though - despite a rough start to the year, he's allowed just 6 earned runs over his last 22 innings. If he can stay solid and San Francisco's offense does what it does, the Giants should win this series comfortably.
Nationals Outlook:
If the Nationals want to leave San Francisco with their hot streak intact, they'll need to do what no team has done yet this season - find an answer for San Francisco's excellent pitching.
The answer starts with Ian Desmond, the spark behind Washington's recent success. If he can keep hitting baseballs into low orbit, the Nats have a chance, but if they end up in a pitching contest with San Francisco's aces, they'll find themselves in deep trouble.
Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister have the quality to match up with the Giants, but Tanner Roark and Blake Treinen still have a lot to prove. Washington's excellent play of late means they have a realistic chance to split this series...but anything more might be asking too much.
What They're Saying About the Giants:
Giants lineup: Pagan out for second straight game (CSN Bay Area)
Vogelsong looks to continue hot streak vs. Nats (Official Site of the Giants)
What They're Saying About the Nationals:
Strasburg, Nationals Look to Carry Momentum into San Francisco (District on Deck)
Nationals' lineup vs Giants: No Anthony Rendon, but he's close to return (Federal Baseball)
