Nationals at Giants
One of the most dynamic teams in the major leagues heads to the West Coast this week, as the Washington Nationals begin a nine-game road trip Monday against the San Francisco Giants. Perhaps the Nationals’ greatest weakness has been playing on the road, where they’ve lost their last three series.
The Nationals have won five of their last seven following a stretch during which they dropped five of seven, restoring their lead in the National League East to 8 1/2 games. Washington was denied a three-game sweep by San Diego with a 5-3 loss on Sunday. The Giants won their final two games against Atlanta after losing four straight overall, and they’ve captured seven of their last nine at AT&T Park. San Francisco's Matt Moore has the difficult task of facing one of the league’s best lineups but has been excellent at home, where he owns a 2.57 ERA compared to a 7.80 mark on the road.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, ESPN, MASN2, WUSA 9 (Washington), NBCSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Tanner Roark (4-2, 4.32 ERA) vs. Giants LH Matt Moore (2-5, 5.28)
Roark is coming off his best start of the season, a victory over Seattle on Wednesday in which he allowed one run and eight hits while striking out eight over seven innings. The 30-year-old snapped a four-start winless streak during which he recorded only one quality start. Roark is 5-0 with a 2.51 ERA in six career games (three starts) against the Giants.
Moore has posted three straight quality starts, yet he has recorded only one win in his last eight outings. The 27-year-old served up a pair of home runs to Chicago Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo last time out and was charged with four runs - three earned - over six innings in a loss. Moore has faced the Nationals only once, allowing two runs and three hits over five innings of a no-decision in 2012.
WALK-OFFS
1. Giants C Buster Posey has gone 55 plate appearances without a strikeout dating to May 14 – the longest active streak in the majors.
2. Nationals C Matt Wieters is 9-for-26 with two homers versus Moore.
3. The Giants have hit the second-fewest home runs in the majors, while 20 of their last 22 have been solo shots.