The Nationals were unable to secure the sweep in Arizona yesterday afternoon, dropping the ballgame 5-1 after former Nat Michael Soroka threw 7 brilliant innings of 1 run ball, and Cade Cavalli, who allowed 4 runs in 5 innings of work, earned the loss. Still, it was a successful series for the Nats, as they took 2 out of 3, climbed back up to .500, and even raised their run differential above 0 again, thanks to a combined 20 runs in games 1 and 2.
The Nats now continue their west coast trip with a stop in San Francisco for a three game set with the Giants, who took 2 out of 3 from the Nats in DC back in April, but have yet to find their footing under first year manager Tony Vitello in 2026, with their 27-39 record ranking 2nd worst in the National League, and tied for 3rd worst in all of baseball.
The Nats will roll with a rather standard lineup for when they face a right-handed starter, with the only notable exception being Jacob Young on the bench, causing Dylan Crews to slide over into centerfield. Curtis Mead will be making the start at first base rather than third base tonight, meaning Luis Garcia Jr. will be the designated hitter, and Jorbit Vivas will get the start at third base. Starting the game off for the Nats will be Richard Lovelady, who will work an inning or two before handing the ball off to Miles Mikolas for the bulk of the innings.
The Giants’ lineup is not too dissimilar from their trip to DC back in April, with the most notable addition being DMV native Bryce Eldridge up from Triple A and batting 6th for them tonight, playing first base. Getting the ball for the Giants will be their ace, Logan Webb, whose 4.25 ERA is unusually high for him, but he is coming off a 7 shutout inning outing against the Brewers last time out.
The Nationals did a good job of rebounding from their sweep at the hands of the Marlins by winning 2 out of 3 in Arizona, and they’ll need to do it again against the Giants if they want to return home to DC with a winning record once more. Luckily for them, they will face a struggling Giants squad, who they were just a pitch or two away from winning the series against back in April. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!