San Francisco Giants vs. Washington Nationals Betting Preview, Matchup Stats

A rematch of last year’s National League Division Series will take place in Washington this Fourth of July weekend as the Nationals host the San Francisco Giants in a three-game set starting Friday. The two teams are among the favorites in the odds to win the NL pennant at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

ESPN will televise two of the games nationally including Sunday Night Baseball, as Washington looks for revenge after getting ousted by San Francisco in four games as the favorite and top seed in the National League last year.

The Giants went on to win their third World Series title in five years as a wild-card team, but they have struggled lately despite making a run at the NL West lead. They've opened their six-game road trip with three straight losses to the Miami Marlins.

San Francisco won seven of 10 prior to its current skid, with four coming as a home favorite on the baseball betting lines, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database. The other three victories all took place at the start of the 10-game run as a road underdog each time, and the team has seen seven consecutive games go over the total overall.

The Nationals are 7-1 co-favorites on the odds to win the World Series this year, along with the St. Louis Cardinals. They are also the 15-4 second choice to win the NL pennant behind the Cardinals (7-2), and the Giants are not too far behind at 5-1.

Washington continues to lead the NL East over the New York Mets and returns home following a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves on the road. The Nationals are 22-14 at home this year and appear to have a starting pitching advantage in two of the three games.

Washington will send Gio Gonzalez (5-4, 4.41 ERA) to the mound in the series opener Friday against San Francisco’s Jake Peavy (0-2, 9.39). Stephen Strasburg (5-5, 5.49) takes the mound versus reigning World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner (8-4, 2.99) Saturday, and Jordan Zimmermann (6-5, 3.16) closes things out when he faces Ryan Vogelsong (6-6, 4.19) Sunday.

San Francisco does get a bit of a break, though, by missing Nationals ace Max Scherzer, who pitched the series finale at Atlanta on Thursday.