NL Division Series: Breaking down Nationals vs. Giants
A look at the best-of-five National League Division Series between the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants:
- Game 1 : Giants 3, Nationals 2
- Game 2 : Giants 2, Nationals 1, 18 innings
- Game 3 : Nationals 4, Giants 1
- Game 4: Oct. 7 -- Washington at San Francisco
- Game 5*: Oct. 9 -- San Francisco at Washington
In the Nationals' favor : No team in this year's playoffs is deeper and has more options in both pitching and on offense. The regular members of the Washington rotation won their last 13 starts, punctuating a season in which they had the best rotation ERA in the majors and the overall staff topped the majors in ERA. The staff has the best strikeout/walk ratio in major league history (since 1900). And it's not like the pitchers lacked from support. The Nationals were third in the NL in runs, fourth in homers and fourth in on-base percentage – and they scored 41 runs in seven games against the Giants this season.
In the Giants' favor : Their two World Series titles in the past four seasons (both even-numbered years) is all the proof necessary that they know how to handle the situation. That could be crucial against a stronger Washington team that's never won a playoff series. And their wild card victory is the Giants' seventh win in a row in a postseason elimination game. Buster Posey and Hunter Pence are the offensive leaders but just as important is the team leading the NL in two-out runs and in batting average with two outs and runners in scoring position. Madison Bumgarner is the new star of the rotation but he'll only start Game 3. The guy who would get two starts is Jake Peavy, whose 2.12 ERA is the team's best since he was acquired in July.
Watch this guy : Jayson Werth has to like the matchup. He hit two homers and drove in 10 runs in seven games against San Francisco this year, but his torment of the Giants goes deeper. It began when Werth hit two homers for the Phillies in the 2010 NLCS against San Francisco. And over the past three seasons for Washington, Werth is 19-for-46 (.413) against the Giants, including seven extra-base hits in 12 games.
In the end : Beware picking against the Giants, regardless of what logic and statistics might dictate. They're facing the best-balanced team in the majors and they're doing it without center fielder and lineup catalyst Angel Pagan. The only team that can beat the Nationals in this series is the Nationals. Washington in 5.