Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
This is the game to see how the Washington Nationals bounceback from one of those defeats that defies all logic. The Nats find themselves in San Francisco to take on another hot team in the west, the upstart San Francisco Giants, a team the Nats split a 4-game series with last month in Nats Park.
The Nats send Paolo Espino to the mound as he needs to prove that he deserves to stay in a rotation that could once again have a competition for the 5th rotation spot when Stephen Strasburg joins Max Scherzer in the front of this rotation. While Patrick Corbin isn’t going anywhere, and the same for a healthy Joe Ross, the final spot could come down to Erick Fedde, Jon Lester, and Espino. Clearly Corbin and Lester have been the weak links in the rotation, but as mentioned, you don’t usually demote a guy you are paying over $24 million this year, plus the $93 million you owe him for 2022-to-2024.
For the home team, they will start righty Logan Webb who none of the Nats have faced before except for Josh Bell. Will we see Yan Gomes in the lineup again tonight? That answer is yes. Most thought he would have rested last night, but there he was back out there for another full game behind the plate.
The one surprise is another benching of Victor Robles who is approaching Mendoza levels again. Because the outfield is so cavernous in San Francisco you might think manager Dave Martinez would stick with his best defensive centerfielder.
Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants
Stadium: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
1st Pitch: 9:45 pm EDT
TV: MASN2, NBC Sports Bay Area, MLB Network out-of-area only, MLB.TV
Nats Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM® ( Streaming Internet 869)
Line-ups subject to change without notice:
1. Alcides Escobar 2B
2. Trea Turner SS
3. Juan Soto RF
4. Josh Bell 1B
5. Starlin Castro 3B
6. Yan Gomes C
7. Josh Harrison LF
8. Gerardo Parra CF
9. Paolo Espino RHP
