The Nationals came back nicely after getting swept by the Miami Marlins, taking 2 of 3 from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a weekend set. They still find themselves sitting at .500 with an even 33-33 record, looking to get back over the hump to begin the week. Pitching and offense were firing on all cylinders in the first two games in Arizona, before the lineup went silent in a 5-1 loss to narrowly miss a sweep.
San Francisco has been a large disappointment so far, with much of their roster underperforming, leaving them currently 12 games under .500. They are however, coming off a handful of good showings against the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. Washington faces the top of their rotation heading into Monday, making for a series that could go either way.
Game 1 – Monday 9:45 PM EST
WSH: RHP Miles Mikolas (1-5, 6.39 ERA)
SFG: RHP Logan Webb (3-4, 4.25 ERA)
Mikolas was riding a pretty decent streak throughout May, but that came crashing down in his first June outing. He allowed 6 runs with 3 long balls across 6.0 innings against the Miami Marlins as a bulk reliever, with 4 of them coming in a crooked 4th inning. An opener is likely for the veteran righty again on Monday night, where he looks to bounce back and avoid falling into a similar scuffle that plagued the start of his season.
Some blowup outings have tanked the Giants ace’s ERA in 2026, but his most recent outing, a dazzling 7.0 innings of shutout baseball against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 3rd looked much more like the Logan Webb the league is used to seeing. He missed some of May with an injury, and the Nats will try to push him back into the bad habits that has his season ERA almost a full point above his career mark.
Game 2 – Tuesday 9:45 PM EST
WSH: LHP Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 3.54 ERA)
SFG: Adrian Houser (2-5, 5.29 ERA)
The southpaw is lined up to make his second start of the year on Tuesday night, and he produced a solid start his first time out there. His only run across 4.1 innings was a solo shot, and the Miami offense was neutralized even with some prolonged command issues. Length will once again not likely be in the cards for the swing starter, but another decent appearance could give the Nats time to jump on a struggling Adrian Houser.
Houser got torched in April but settled down for a respectable month of May where he posted an ERA just below 4. He’s also not given San Francisco much length and opposing lineups have worked his pitch count early and kept him from being truly effective. The impressive Washington offense could smell blood in the water early, and with the relatively unproven Alvarez on the bump, it’s paramount that they can jump on Houser quickly.
Game 3 – Wednesday 3:45 PM EST
WSH: LHP Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.63 ERA)
SFG: LHP Robbie Ray (4-6, 4.12 ERA)
Not much has seemed to faze Griffin to this point in the season, separating himself as by far the most reliable option in the Washington rotation. His arsenal continues to fool hitters and while the box scores aren’t elite, he’s doing enough for the Nats to stay in games. The goal should be for more of the same out of Griffin, and the Giants’ offense doesn’t pose a particularly elevated threat on paper.
Most of Ray’s outings have been adequate enough, with one 9-run collapse severely hindering his ERA. The veteran has looked decent enough to get outs without completely carving up teams, and Washington needs to put the pressure on him in the first few innings to continue riding Griffin’s hot streak.