Tuesday: Gonzalez vs Bumgarner
Wednesday: Zimmermann vs Lincecum
Thursday: Haren vs Vogelsong
Two teams, with high hopes dashed against the rocks of despair. The defending champion Giants appear to be going nowhere (sound familiar?). But, they still have talent. The three starters scheduled have all had recent success. Bumgarner has a 45/150 BB/K ratio to go along with a 0.98 WHIP. Lincecum's last start on 8 August against Milwaukee was impressive (8IP, H, BB, 8K). Vogelsong was an All-Star last year. He did pretty well 9 August versus Baltimore (6IP, 6H, 2ER, 3BB, 4K) after missing 2 1/2 months.
The Giants' offense is struggling as well (sound familiar?), but there are dangerous hitters throughout. C Posey, 3B Sandoval, RF Pence and 1B Belt supply power. SS Crawford occasionally hits one out. On paper, this could be a good offense.
On defense, there's not a lot of strong arms in the outfield. Posey is a solid catch-and-throw guy. Crawford has nice range and a strong arm. Sandoval is surprisingly quick for a guy of his build. As a team, they're competent but not necessarily spectacular.
For this series, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bumgarner and Lincecum go deep into their respective starts. Gonzalez and Zimmermann will have to match them pitch for pitch. Thursday's game is a wild card - either pitcher could throw a shutout or get bombed early.
I think Washington can win the first two, and have a great chance to win all three. One key for the Nats is scoring more than one run early in the games. An early rally fosters confidence throughout the lineup, and that confidence goes out to the field as well.
Washington may start playing more youngsters the next couple of weeks before the September call-ups arrive. Maybe Bernadina can get more at-bats...?
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