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Nationals look to tie up NLDS on Tuesday
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 10/7/2014  at  5:59:00 AM
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WASHINGTON NATIONALS (97-68)

at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (91-75)

National League Division Series
Game 4 - San Francisco leads series 2-1
First pitch: Tuesday, 9:05 p.m. ET
Line: Washington -120, San Francisco +110, Total: 6.5

After staving off elimination on Monday, the Nationals look to tie up this NL Divisional Series on Tuesday night with another win on the road against the Giants.

Washington has done well during this series at keeping San Francisco's offense in check, allowing a mere six runs in the three contests, but has not been clicking on offense as the club has tallied just seven total runs. The Nats earned their first victory of this series on Monday night by a score of 4-1 when they got a big performance from Doug Fister (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 K's) and aided him with six hits and scored all their runs after the seventh inning. OF Bryce Harper hit his second homer of the postseason in the ninth inning and has scored three of the team's seven runs thus far. The Giants displayed some great pitching in the first two games of this series, while looking to be on the way to another one on Monday as Madison Bumgarner threw six scoreless innings before he committed a throwing error which derailed the team and ended up leading to three runs. Their batters could not get anything going in Game 3, as they were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position while getting their lone run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. C Buster Posey has a hit in each of the first four games of this postseason, going 7-for-19 with 2 RBI overall. Getting the start in this crucial game for the Nationals will be LHP Gio Gonzalez (10-10, 3.57 ERA in regular season) as he goes up against RHP Ryan Vogelsong (8-13, 4.00 ERA in regular season) for the host Giants. With Tuesday’s road victory, Washington pushed its record away from home to 46-36 (.561) while San Francisco’s AT&T Park record dropped to 45-37 (.549) on the year. The Nationals should also feel confident they can earn another victory against their opponent, as they are 14-8 in this series over the past three seasons while going 7-4 when on the road. The only injury of note for Washington is that of OF Nate McLouth (shoulder) who is out for the season, while the trio of 2B Marco Scutaro (back), OF Michael Morse (oblique) and OF Angel Pagan (back) are all injured for the Nationals.

Gio Gonzalez did not have the best season of his career, but he was still very effective, posting his fifth straight season with a sub-3.60 ERA while striking out at least 8.8 batters per nine innings. In 2014, he mowed down 9.2 batters per nine and showed career-best control (3.2 BB/9) while allowing a mere 10 homers in his 158.2 innings on the mound (0.57 HR/9). Over his seven years as a starter, Gonzalez has pitched in just two playoff games, which both came in 2012 when he was 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA and brutal 1.70 WHIP as the result of far too many walks (11) in his 10 frames. He has been tremendous in his career against the Giants though, going 2-2 (team is 4-3) with a 2.59 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, while giving up a meager one run on eight hits over his past two starts (11.1 IP). SS Brandon Crawford (2-for-6, 1 HR, 2 RBI) is the only player to go deep against the lefty while OF Hunter Pence, C Buster Posey and 3B Pablo Sandoval have struggled to a combined 5-for-36 clip (.139) in the matchup. The relievers for Washington have gone 26-18 (.591) in 2014 with a 2.94 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, and are 45-for-62 (73%) in save chances. Drew Storen (1.12 ERA, 11 saves in regular season) has already given up four hits in his 1.1 innings in this series.

Ryan Vogelsong was an important part of this San Francisco rotation in the regular season, as he provided the team with a career-high 32 starts in which he showed the best control of his career (2.8 BB/9) while striking out 7.4 batters per nine innings. He unfortunately was not given much in the way of run support though, and was a meager 8-13. Vogelsong has thrived in postseason play in his career, going 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 7.7 K/9, and did not allow a home run in his 24.2 innings spanning four starts, all in 2012. Against the Nationals, Vogelsong is 1-2 with a dreadful 6.16 ERA and 1.63 WHIP over nine games (5 starts) while walking 15 batters in just 30.2 innings of work. SS Ian Desmond (4-for-10, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 HR, 6 RBI) has been very productive in his time in this matchup, while OF Bryce Harper (1-for-8) has not been able to figure out the righty. The Giants’ bullpen is an outstanding 33-14 (.702) this year with a 2.97 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while saving 48-of-66 (73%) games. Closer Santiago Casilla (1.70 ERA, 19 saves in regular season) has pitched two scoreless innings in this series so far, while not allowing a hit and getting one save.


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