Nationals vs. Giants MLB Odds, Preview and Pick (Archive)
The final game on Friday’s MLB odds board finds Juan Soto and the struggling Washington Nationals heading west to begin a long road trip against the first-place San Francisco Giants.
Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants
Friday, April 29, 2022 – 10:15 PM EDT at Oracle Park
The opposite coasters spent last weekend in DC, and the two sides are also opposite in terms of the results they’re experiencing roughly 1/8th of the way into the campaign. Washington begins this road trip in an 8-game tailspin and beginning to lose sight of the rest of the clubs in the NL East. San Francisco, on the other hand, is on top of the NL West in what is shaping up to be another 3-team race.
Nats Mired in Eight-Game Skid
They will start this series with a mound rematch from their set a weekend ago, Washington sending Aaron Sanchez (0-1, 8.31) out the Golden Gate bump against Alex Wood (2-0, 2.51). BetOnline is carrying San Francisco on a chalky -210 moneyline for the matchup, and the 7½-run total is juiced to the ‘under.’
Washington spent the last week-and-a-half engaged in what will be its longest homestand of the season, and things didn’t go well, to put it mildly. Playing in front of sparse crowds, for the most part, the Nationals lost the final eight games on the stand. About the best thing that can be said for the Washington lineup is it’s not as impotent as Pittsburgh’s or Arizona’s.
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San Francisco took Thursday off after being blanked by bay rival Oakland 1-0 on Wednesday. Prior to that, the Giants had no trouble generating offense, the club ranking fourth in the NL scoring 4.79 runs per game. Joc Pederson, who leads the squad with 6 HR, is questionable for Friday’s game with a groin injury.
SF Staff Leads NL in Fewest HR Allowed
The matchup between Sanchez and Wood last week went to the Giants 5-2, the game really turning into a matchup of the bullpens as it was a battle between the two starters. San Francisco broke open a tight game with four runs in the fifth, half of those runs coming plate ward on a ground out and a sac fly.
Sanchez was making his 2022 debut for the Nationals after pitching last year for the Giants and made it into the decisive fifth before succumbing to the San Francisco lineup. He made three starts at the Nationals’ Triple-A club in Rochester prior to last week’s start, tossing 15 frames and pitching to a 3.60 ERA.
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Wood and the Giants were -180 on baseball odds boards in the win last Saturday, and the lefthander was only at the 77-pitch count when his day ended. It was actually his shortest outing of the season in terms of pitches, but right in line with the previous two that also saw him face exactly 20 batters. Juan Soto has just one hit in five at-bats against Sanchez, but that hit did leave the yard.
‘Under’ a Dominant Trend in Recent Meetings
It was a broom job for the Giants last weekend when they were in the nation’s capital. San Francisco barely broke a sweat in the three wins, outscoring the Nationals 24-6 and taking all three as chalk at the top-rated sportsbooks. Two of the three stopped short of the totals, all of which closed at 8½.
A clean sweep for the Giants was also the outcome when the squads met in San Francisco a year ago. That series came just before the all-star break, and the Giants wore the favorite’s tag in all three while two of the contests stopped short of the marks. The ‘under’ has been the most profitable way to play the Giants and Nationals with 12 of the last 14 meetings never reaching the totals.
Partly cloudy skies, temps in the upper-50s, and a 12-15 mph blow from the west (out to center) are what the weatherman is calling for to begin the game. Coming up with free baseball pick-in mismatches like this one can be a little scary since nothing is ever supposed to be easy. Still, playing the run line and the ‘under’ is the only way to double-team this MLB game.
MLB Picks
Giants -1½ (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Under 7½ (-115) with Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.