Nationals vs Giants 6/11 Lineup and Preview
The Washington Nationals came into San Francisco on Monday ready to play the best team in baseball in a four game series and after two games the Nationals are playing like they are the best team in baseball. The Nationals blew out the Giants in the first game 9-2 and then grinded out a 2-1 nail bitter on Tuesday now the Nationals will look to stay the hottest team in baseball for tonight’s game as they still look to take over the lead in the NL East from the Atlanta Braves.
On the mound for the red hot Nationals will be possibly the most unknown star in the star studded rotation for the Nationals, Tanner Roark. Roark is coming off of a stellar start against the San Diego Padres that saw him go eight scoreless innings while only giving up three hits. After yet another shut down performance Roark will look to stay hot and like his fellow pitching mates, Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister, shut down the San Francisco Giants offense. Roark is currently posting a less than stellar 4-4 record however his 2.91 ERA along with his WHIP of only 1.05 is outstanding and makes him one of the best pitchers in the Nationals rotation.
Opposing Roark for the Giants will be one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball in Matt Cain. The ten year veteran has a record of 94-91 over his career with a career ERA of 3.36 however what makes Cain one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball is the fact throughout his career he has only had one season where he had an ERA over 4 runs per game and for the most part has stayed in the range of 2.75 and 3.50 which over a ten year career is outstanding. On this season Cain is posting 3.52 ERA and holds only a 1-3 record due to an injury earlier in the season. Cain has not been a strikeout pitcher this season as he only has 42 strikeouts over 53 innings he however is coming off of a very strong start that saw him go seven innings and only allow two runs on just three hits.
The Nationals offense has been nearly unstoppable in their hot streak that has seen the team win nine of their last eleven and in those eleven games the offense has scored 5.9 runs per game. The team is being led by the charge of Ian Desmond on this west coast road trip who in the last five games has registered eight hits as well as two home runs. Another player that has feasted on opponents pitching has been leadoff hitter Denard Span who in the month of June is batting .325 with eight extra base hits in just ten games. With Matt Cain on the mound for the Giants the Nationals have a few hitters who have hit very well against the right hander. Ian Desmond in 12 at bats against Cain is hitting .417 with one home run while Jayson Werth in just six at bats has four hits with three of them being doubles.
The Nationals will be without their starting catcher Wilson Ramos for tonight’s game after he came out of last night’s ball game due to hurt his hamstring after knocking in his second double of the night. It is unknown how long severe Ramos hamstring injury is and how long it will keep him out of the lineup.
Nationals Lineup:
1. D. Span, CF
2. A. Rendon, 3B
3. J. Werth, RF
4. A. LaRoche, 1B
5. R. Zimmerman, LF
6. I. Desmond, SS
7. D. Espinosa, 2B
8. J. Lobaton, C
9. T. Roark, P
Giants Lineup:
1. A. Pagan, CF
2. H. Pence, RF
3. B. Posey, C
4. P. Sandoval, 3B
5. M. Morse, 1B
6. B. Crawford, SS
7. G. Blanco, LF
8. B. Hicks, 2B
9. M. Cain, P
