Giants vs. Nationals Thursday Prediction
Drew Pomeranz has pitched well for the Giants in the early going but is this an exploitable matchup for the Nationals on Thursday? San Francisco and Washington will wrap up their series at 1:05 p.m. ET today.
Game Snapshot & Odds
953 San Francisco Giants (+170) at 954 Washington Nationals (-200); 7.5 runs
Thursday, April 18, 2019
1:05 p.m. ET, Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
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Public Betting Trends
According to our MLB Public Betting Chart page, 58% of the betting tickets are on the Nationals to beat the Giants on the moneyline.
San Francisco Giants Fantasy Spin
Gerardo Parra went 1-for-3 with a home run and a stolen base as his team fell to the Nationals on Wednesday. He ripped a two-run tater off reliever Austen Williams in the ninth inning but it didn’t matter much as the Giants were getting clobbered at the time. The homer and stolen base were his first of the season. He has a .218 batting average with six RBI on the year. His bat wasn’t of much use in fantasy circles the last couple of years despite playing in Coors Field for the Rockies, and now that he is in San Francisco he is even less desirable.
Washington Nationals Fantasy Spin
Howie Kendrick went 2-for-3 and swatted a solo home run in a win over the Giants on Wednesday. He took Jeff Samardzija deep with the bases empty in the first inning. He scored twice in the game and walked once. Kendrick missed the first week of the season with a hamstring strain and hasn’t gotten much playing time since being activated. He has stung the ball when given the chance though. He is slashing .500/.577/1.100 with three home runs, six RBI and nine runs scored in just 26 plate appearances. He is a professional hitter who batted over .300 each of the last two years. The Nationals will find ways to get him semi-regular at-bats moving forward, perhaps largely at the expense of the struggling Brian Dozier.
MLB Betting Trends
San Francisco
The Giants are now 7-22 in their last 29 road games and are 13-32 in their last 45 games overall.
Washington
The Nationals are just 2-8 in their last 10 games coming off a win.
Prediction:
The over is 5-1 in the last six meetings between these two teams and is 4-1-1 in the last six meeting at Nationals Park. The Giants have somehow scored a combined 13 runs in the first two games of this series but I don’t trust them to knock around Patrick Corbin like they did Stephen Strasburg and Washington’s bullpen last night. Thus, I don’t love the over despite the total for this game sitting at a reasonable 7.5 runs. The better risk is to fade Pomeranz, who has pitched well this year, but is vulnerable to right-handed hitters. Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman mash left-handed hitters and I could see Brian Dozier and Yan Gomes having good games as well. With the wind expected to be blowing straight out to left, that’s another reason to bank on this Nats’ offense today.
The Pick: Washington Nationals Team Total OVER 4.5 Runs (-105)