The Giants' next seven games will be among the most pivotal in their playoff chase.
San Francisco entered Monday sitting 2.5 games back of the second NL wild-card spot. The two teams tied for that spot -- the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies -- come to Oracle Park this week, beginning with the Nationals on Monday night.
Jeff Samardzija, who takes the mound in Monday's critical start, is coming off one of his best appearances of the season. In six shutout innings against the Phillies on July 31, Samardzija struck out five, gave up three hits and walked one. The 34-year-old needed just 90 pitches, dropping his ERA (3.75) to its lowest point since June 8.
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Erick Fedde will start for the Nationals and make his first career appearance against the Giants. Fedde is 1-2 with a 4.67 ERA, and the 26-year-old will make just his 10th start of the season.
Coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. PT with Giants Pregame Live on NBC Sports Bay Area and streaming on the My Teams app.
Here are the full lineups for Monday's series opener.
Washington Nationals (58-53)
San Francisco Giants
Trea Turner, SS
Adam Eaton, RF
Anthony Rendon, 3B
Juan Soto, LF
Matt Adams, 1B
Brian Dozier, 2B
Kurt Suzuki, C
Victor Robles, CF
Erick Fedde, RHP (1-2, 4.67 ERA)
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San Francisco Giants (56-56)
Brandon Belt, 1B
Mike Yastrzemski, LF
Buster Posey, C
Pablo Sandoval, 3B
Scooter Gennett, 2B
Brandon Crawford, SS
Kevin Pillar, CF
Steven Duggar, RF
Jeff Samardzija, RHP (8-8, 3.75 ERA)