Padres Announce Starting Pitchers for Weekend Series vs Nationals

The San Diego Padres are traveling to Washington, D.C. this weekend to face the Nationals in a three-game series.

The Padres (31-24) are coming off a series sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals (29-28) had won four in a row before losing their series finale against the Cleveland Guardians.

This is the first of two series this year between the teams that will forever be linked due to the blockbuster Juan Soto trade that has helped turn the Nationals around.

The Nationals' two best players, outfielder James Wood and shortstop CJ Abrams, were among the headliners in the eight-player deal that brought Soto to San Diego.

Wood, 23, enters the series slashing .276/.414/.553 with 15 home runs, 37 RBIs and an OPS of .967.

Abrams, 25, enters the series slashing .294/.388/.549 with 12 home runs, 47 RBIs and an OPS of .937.

The Padres could use both of those players right now.

Padres vs Nationals Pitching Probables

Friday, May 29: RHP Lucas Giolito vs. LHP Andrew Alvarez

Giolito is making his third start of the year for the Padres in the series opener, looking to pick up where he left off in his last outing.

The right-hander pitched five shutout innings against the Athletics, lowering his season ERA to 2.70. He has just five strikeouts to eight walks, but has found ways to limit the damage early this year.

Alvarez is expected to start for the Nationals in his fifth appearance of the year. He most recently pitched 1.1 innings in relief against the Atlanta Braves. He's yet to start a game this year, but has pitched as many as 4.1 innings in an outing.

He has a 2.84 ERA across 12.2 innings this year.

Saturday, May 30: RHP Michael King vs. LHP Foster Griffin

The ace of the Padres gets the ball on Saturday, and he'll be looking for a bounce back performance.

King allowed four runs over 3.2 innings against the Athletics in his worst outing of the year. Overall, he has a 2.76 ERA across 62 innings (11 starts).

The Padres will face another lefty with Griffin on the mound on Saturday.

He threw six shutout innings against the Braves in his most recent start. Overall, he has a 3.63 ERA across 62 innings (11 starts) this season.

Sunday, May 31: RHP Griffin Canning vs. RHP Zack Littell

Canning is pitching Sunday's series finale looking for a good ouing. Overall, he has a 7.54 ERA across 22.2 innings this year. After back-to-back six-run outings, he's allowed three runs in each of his last two.

Opposite Canning will be the veteran Littell, who has a 5.23 ERA across 53.1 innings this season. He's been much better in the month of May, though, sporting a 2.19 ERA across 24.2 innings. He's been used behind an opener in three of his five outings this month.

Key Injuries

The Padres remain without infielder Jake Cronenworth (concussion) and catcher Luis Campusano (toe fracture).

They're also without a majority of their starting rotation in Joe Musgrove (elbow), Nick Pivetta (elbow), Germán Márquez (forearm) and Matt Waldron (brachialis).

The Nationals just lost starting pitcher Jake Irvin, who likely would have started Friday's series opener.

How to Watch Padres vs Nationals May 29-31

First pitch for Friday's series opener is 3:45 p.m. PT/6:45 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

First pitch for Saturday's game is 1:05 p.m. PT/4:05 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

First pitch for Sunday's series finale is 10:35 a.m. PT/1:35 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

Add us as a preferred source on Google