The Washington Nationals will seek to continue their recent mastery at Oracle Park in San Francisco when they go for a three-game sweep of the Giants on Wednesday afternoon.

Daylen Lile has provided big hits for the Nationals, who entered the series with two wins in three tries against the Arizona Diamondbacks to kick off a weeklong trip. Washington added 4-3 and 6-3 victories over the Giants on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Tuesday’s triumph assured the Nationals of their fifth consecutive series win in San Francisco. Including sweeps in 2017 and 2019, they’ve gone 17-9 at Oracle Park in the past decade.

The difference between this season and last year, when the Nationals’ two wins in San Francisco came in August, is that Washington’s victory Tuesday improved the club’s record to two games over .500 for the season. Last year, the Nationals left San Francisco 23 games under .500.

“We’re just a young group who’s very confident in their abilities,” Lile told reporters in between his go-ahead single in Monday’s win and his two-RBI contribution to the rematch. “It’s just a matter of time for us to show everybody what we’re capable of doing, and I feel like we’re doing that.”

Someone who has been winning at an even higher percentage than the team in general is Nationals left-hander Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.63 ERA), who will take a four-game unbeaten run into his start in the series finale.

The 30-year-old’s recent stretch has included two impressive road outings — six shutout innings in a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on May 24 and five innings of one-run ball in a 14-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.

Having sandwiched three seasons in Japan between seven major league appearances and eight innings pitched in 2020 and 2022 combined, Griffin never has faced the Giants.

He’ll face a San Francisco team that has created many more opportunities for itself than the six total runs in the series would indicate. The Giants got 13 hits, but only two with runners in scoring position, in Monday’s loss, then collected nine hits and seven walks on Tuesday, only to strand 13 runners.

“That’s kinda been the theme the last two nights. We’ve had guys out there; we just haven’t pushed them across as often as we’d like,” San Francisco manager Tony Vitello said after the most recent loss. “It’s come in different scenarios, too, not just with two outs. We’d be in a different position if we could do it.”

Casey Schmitt, who entered the series as the Giants’ hottest hitter, and Willy Adames, who homered three times on the road last week, have gone a combined 0-for-8 against the Nationals with runners in scoring position.

If there’s good news for the Giants, it’s that left-hander Robbie Ray (4-6, 4.12 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the finale. The team’s offense often has been at its best when the veteran has been on the mound this season.

Ray has started three straight Giants wins, benefiting from a total of 45 runs of support. That said, the 34-year-old didn’t get any offensive backing in a 3-0 loss at Washington in April, an outcome that dropped his career record against the Nationals to 3-6 with a 5.13 ERA over 10 starts.

–Field Level Media

Rookie Sal Stewart said it felt like the Cincinnati Reds were treading in quicksand Monday night after their fifth straight loss.

He dragged them out of it Tuesday night by cracking his 13th homer, a two-run shot in the top of the 11th inning that gave the Reds a much-needed 5-3 road victory over the reeling San Diego Padres.

Stewart and Cincinnati will aim to end a tough road trip with a series win on Wednesday afternoon.

That it was Stewart who produced the big hit shouldn’t come as a big surprise. He has a shot at the Rookie of the Year award in the National League, as he is batting .254 with 42 RBIs in addition to his 13 home runs.

“He’s the best, and he knows it,” starting pitcher Chase Burns said of Stewart, 22.

Stewart’s clutch homer was backed up by a 1-2-3 bottom of the 11th from Zach Maxwell, giving him his first major league save.

Reds manager Terry Francona said after the game that starter Nick Lodolo, who pitched on Saturday in St. Louis, volunteered to go to the bullpen and help the beleaguered relievers.

On this night, the bullpen that has struggled for several weeks was just fine, allowing just one run in 5 2/3 innings and working out of numerous jams.

Cincinnati will hope for length from Wednesday’s starter, Brady Singer (2-6, 5.89 ERA). The right-hander last worked on Friday night in St. Louis, where he absorbed a 10-3 defeat after yielding four runs (one earned) on four hits in four innings, with three walks and six strikeouts.

“There are a lot of ups and downs and stuff like that,” Singer said. “I’m getting kicked in the teeth right now, obviously.”

Singer won his only previous start against the Padres — who are 2-8 in their past 10 games — allowing four runs (two earned) over six innings on May 16, 2023, while pitching for Kansas City.

Opposing Singer on Wednesday will be San Diego right-hander Michael King (4-5, 3.41 ERA), who’s coming off a 5-0 loss Friday against the New York Mets. King gave up four runs on six hits in six innings, walking none and fanning four.

In five career games against Cincinnati, two of them starts, King is 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA. He’s dropped his last three starts since throwing seven shutout innings on May 18 in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Diego’s season-long offensive woes showed up again in a big way on Tuesday night. The Padres went 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 runners. They left the bases loaded in the ninth when Manny Machado and Gavin Sheets each struck out to force extra innings.

The Padres also filled the bases in the sixth with one out before Freddy Fermin, who homered in the previous three games, hit into a rally-killing 3-2-3 double play.

“We could have won that one, but we didn’t get the job done,” San Diego manager Craig Stammen said. “We’re obviously pressing in that situation. Everybody wants to be the guy that breaks out.”

The loss dropped the Padres to 18-19 at home this season. They were dominant there last year, going 52-29.

–Field Level Media

The Seattle Mariners have made the best out of some unfortunate situations this week.

They will take the confidence that goes with that into Wednesday night’s game against the host Baltimore Orioles.

Seattle is 11-3 in its last 14 games. The Orioles, in turn, are mired in a four-game losing streak.

The Mariners won the second consecutive contest of the four-game series — 6-5 in 10 innings Tuesday night — despite squandering a ninth-inning lead.

Seattle has won twice against Baltimore with shortstop Colt Emerson sidelined because of an ailing back.

“He seems to be better (Tuesday) than he was (Monday),” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “So that’s a really positive thing, and we’ll just keep monitoring as we go.”

The Mariners have survived for both victories in the series despite some adventurous work from the bullpen.

The Orioles, who’ve cranked out late-inning offense, haven’t been able to totally make up for some of their lineup tweaks.

“We have to get better to win those margins, whatever that is,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s looking at how we can get better and make adjustments.”

Catcher Adley Rutschman has been out of Baltimore’s lineup for the first two games of the series because of hamstring tightness.

“We just want to make sure that we stay on top of that,” Albernaz said, not revealing a timetable for Rutschman’s return to action.

Sam Huff has been behind the plate for both games, marking his return to the big leagues for the first time since mid-April. Along with Samuel Basallo, the Orioles are carrying three catchers.

“Having the third catcher is a great safety valve for us,” Albernaz said. “So it’s something that for right now it makes the most sense, but also moving forward it could be or it could not be. So there’s a lot of factors that go into that. But right now, it’s definitely a benefit for us.”

Right-hander George Kirby (5-5, 4.04 ERA) will start for the Mariners on Wednesday, seeking his first victory in nearly a month. In his last four starts, he’s 0-3. He’s coming off a season-low four innings in last Wednesday’s 7-1 loss to the New York Mets. Kirby gave up five runs (four earned) and nine hits.

Matchups against the Orioles generally haven’t gone Kirby’s way, as he’s 2-5 with a 3.26 ERA in eight starts vs. Baltimore. That’s the most losses to any opponent in Kirby’s career.

The Mariners lost bullpen regular Cooper Criswell, who was placed on the 15-day injury list Tuesday because of a shoulder strain. In his place, Nick Davila was called up from Triple-A Tacoma and recorded his first career save Tuesday.

The Orioles’ starting pitcher on Wednesday will be right-hander Brandon Young (4-1, 3.47 ERA), who’ll face Seattle for the first time in his career.

Baltimore has won six consecutive outings with Young on the mound, though he’s 2-0 during that stretch. He picked up the victory Friday at Toronto, where the Blue Jays managed three runs in 6 1/3 innings off Young. The Orioles won 13-3.

In his last three starts, Young has gone 19 2/3 innings, issuing three walks and logging 15 strikeouts.

–Field Level Media