The Washington Nationals will be hoping to prevent their losing streak from getting to nine games when they face the San Francisco Giants on Friday. Unfortunately for them, the Giants have won five of their last six and are one of the best teams in the National League.
Will Washington find a way to stop the bleeding by getting in the win column tonight? You’ll want to keep reading our Nationals vs. Giants MLB picks and predictions to find out.
Nationals vs Giants odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
After beginning as a -193 favorite in this meeting with the Nationals, the Giants are now up to -245 on two sportsbooks. And the best price you’ll find on them is -220. You can, however, get -105 if you’re willing to lay 1.5 runs.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until first pitch and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Nationals vs Giants predictions
- Prediction: Giants -1.5 (-105)
- Prediction: Over 7.5 (-103)
- Best bet: Giants team total Over 4.5 (+102)
Picks made on 4/29/2022 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Nationals vs Giants game info
• Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
• Date: Friday, April 29, 2022
• First pitch: 10:15 p.m. ET
• TV: NBCS-BAY, NBCS-WSH
Nationals vs Giants betting preview
Starting pitchers
Aaron Sanchez (0-1, 8.31 ERA): Sanchez has only started one game this season and it actually came against this very Giants team. The righty gave up four earned runs on six hits in 4 1-3 innings in that outing and the Nationals will be hoping he does better this time around. Sanchez was on San Francisco a year ago, when he went 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA over nine appearances (he started seven games).
Alex Wood (2-0, 2.51 ERA): Wood’s most recent start came against the Nationals, and he gave up two earned runs in five innings in that one. The lefty has now given up only four earned runs over 14 1-3 innings this season, and he has struck out 16 batters already. Wood is coming off of a really solid season in his first year with San Francisco, as he was 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA in 2021.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Nationals: Ehire Adrianza 3B (Out), Sean Doolittle P (Out), Dee Strange-Gordon 2B (Out), Anibal Sanchez P (Out).
Giants: Joc Pederson OF (Questionable), Mike Yastrzemski OF (Out), Tommy La Stella 2B (Out), Steven Duggar OF (Out), Anthony DeSclafani P (Out), LaMonte Wade Jr. OF (Out), Alex Cobb P (Out), Evan Longoria 3B (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 5-1-1 in the Nationals’ last seven games as road underdogs. Find more MLB betting trends for Nationals vs. Giants
Nationals vs Giants picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Run line analysis
The Giants are as high as -245 favorites in this game, which just goes to show you the edge that San Francisco has in this matchup, on paper. These teams sent these exact pitchers to the mound in their matchup last Saturday, when the Giants earned a 5-2 win in Washington. Now, San Francisco will look to comfortably win again, only this time it’ll be in its own home stadium.
While the moneyline in a game like this can be a little intimidating, the run line is a more affordable option. It also happens to be one that the Giants were able to cover the last time these teams met. Now, San Francisco should be even more dangerous against Sanchez, who probably isn’t at 100% with his game at the moment. He was called up from the minors for his last start against the Giants, and he only was able to throw 64 pitches in that game. Also, this San Francisco lineup is filled with players that focus on the details, so the Giants should be better off facing him just a few days later.
Wood, meanwhile, is off to a hot start to the 2022 season, and he has been a tough pitcher to hit throughout his career, in general. Washington isn’t particularly great at hitting lefties either, so it’s not like this is a strong matchup for this team. Wood is also a much better pitcher when throwing in San Francisco, where he was 7-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 2021. The lefty also had a better ERA in night games than day games in 2021, so perhaps he’ll be even sharper with this being a later start than last weekend’s game.
Prediction: Giants -1.5 (-105 at BetMGM)
Over/Under analysis
These two pitchers faced one another on Saturday and the teams combined to score only seven runs. There were, however, 17 hits in that game and there probably should have been a lot more runs scored.
The Nationals, who were 16th in MLB in runs scored in 2021, are just 24th in the league to start this season. It’s a pretty big drop-off for a Washington club that also happens to have played a few more games than each of the teams that have scored fewer runs than them. While that might seem pretty discouraging, the fact of the matter is that the Nationals are due for a little positive regression. Perhaps it’ll come against a pitcher they should be familiar with after having seen him last weekend.
As for the Giants, only four teams in the league have scored more runs on the season, and San Francisco has to be excited about facing Sanchez again. The righty spent last season with the Giants, so these coaches know exactly how they’ll want their players to attack him in the batter’s box. With that said, San Francisco should be able to put a decent number on the scoreboard.
The Over also happens to be 5-1-1 in the last seven games that Washington has played as a road underdog.
Prediction: Over 7.5 (-103 at Unibet)
Best bet
The Giants have scored at least five runs in five of their last eight games, and they’re now taking on a starter that they just saw last weekend. San Francisco scored four runs on Sanchez in that game, and the team ultimately ended up finishing with five in that contest. Now, the Giants are going to be feeling even better about facing the righty, and they should be able to turn in a rather productive offensive performance in this one.
This San Francisco lineup has quite a few players that can be dangerous against right-handed pitching, with Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford, and Brandon Belt being a few to keep an eye on. Don’t be surprised if any of them come through with a big hit or two in this one, and they could ultimately help prop bettors cash this one rather easily.
Pick: Giants team total Over 4.5 (+102 at Unibet)
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