San Francisco @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 3, 2012 ) San Francisco 3, Washington 9
After recording five wins in June, Madison Bumgarner will look to extend his dominance into a new month when he leads the San Francisco Giants into Wednesday morning's game against the host Washington Nationals. Bumgarner would be wise to tread carefully around All-Star Ian Desmond, who launched his career-high 14th homer in Washington's 9-3 victory on Tuesday. The red-hot Desmond is riding an eight-game hitting streak for the NL East-leading Nationals, who have won five of their last seven.
Tim Lincecum was torched again on Tuesday, yielding a career-high eight runs to continue his brutal 2012 campaign. The Giants won't have a long time to dwell on the loss, with Wednesday's game kicking off at 11:05 a.m. ET in order to allow fans to enjoy the game as well as numerous Fourth of July festivities in the area.
TV: 11:05 a.m. ET, CSBA (San Francisco), MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (10-4, 2.85 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Edwin Jackson (4-4, 3.57)
Bumgarner tossed a one-hit gem and struck out eight in a 5-0 win over Cincinnati on Thursday. The 22-year-old has handcuffed the Nationals in a pair of career starts, registering a slim 0.69 ERA and tidy 0.92 WHIP.
While Bumgarner is sizzling, Jackson was torched in his last trip to the mound. The veteran hurler yielded season highs in both runs (eight) and hits (10) in three innings against Colorado on Thursday. Jackson was able to walk away with a no-decision after Washington battled to an 11-10 triumph. He is 1-2 in his career versus San Francisco.
WALK-OFFS
1. While many took issue with Pablo Sandoval getting the nod over David Wright to start the All-Star Game, the Kung Fu Panda did his best to calm the waters by saying he was happy to be on the team with the New York Mets third baseman.
2. Washington's Adam LaRoche had an RBI double on Tuesday, but he is hitting just 1-for-9 with five strikeouts versus Bumgarner.
3. The Nationals placed Chien-Ming Wang on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hip and activated fellow RHP Henry Rodriguez prior to Tuesday's game. Rodriguez retired the final batter to preserve the victory.