What we learned as Wood struggles in Giants' loss to Nats

What we learned as Wood struggles in Giants' loss to Nats originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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WASHINGTON D.C. -- The focus on Friday night at Nationals Park was on the future. Dylan Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, agreed to terms on a contract with a massive signing bonus and will be introduced in the coming days, and he soon will have company.

If the season ended today, the Washington Nationals would pick fourth in the draft, but they still can play spoiler, and that’s been the case against the Giants this season. Alex Wood struggled and the lineup had another quiet night as the Giants lost 5-3 on their first of three games in the nation’s capital.

The loss was their third straight on this trip. They’re 1-3 this season against the last-place Nationals.

Rookie Jake Irvin's best start of the season came in early May in San Francisco, and on Friday he had his longest start in the big leagues. Irvin threw 6 2/3 innings, easily setting a career-high with 111 pitches, and allowed three runs on five hits.

The Giants finally chased Irvin by putting runners on the corners in the seventh, and Wilmer Flores' pinch-hit walk against reliever Jordan Weems loaded the bases for Casey Schmitt. But the rookie swung through a 96 mph fastball, ending the threat. The Giants went down quietly from there.

Searching For Consistency

After throwing five shutout innings in his final "bulk innings" performance of the first half, Alex Wood slid back into the rotation last weekend in Pittsburgh. His second start back lasted just four innings.

Wood was pulled after CJ Abrams singled while leading off the fifth, ending another short night in what has been a very inconsistent third season in orange and black. Wood was charged with five earned on five hits, including a couple of homers. His velocity was down across the board, with his sinker averaging just 90.3 mph. It came in at 92.4 mph last season.

The Giants thought they would have a more stable rotation in the second half, but that hasn't been the case. They're listing TBA for Sunday, which is Anthony DeSclafani's next scheduled start day.

Capital Crush

The guy sitting in the second row of the third deck in right field probably didn't expect to be scrambling for a souvenir on Friday night, but that's what happened in the top of the third. Joc Pederson jumped on a hanging breaking ball and crushed a 429-foot shot into the upper deck, tying the game.

The moonshot was Pederson's ninth of the season, but his first since June 20. It left the bat at 107.5 mph.

Walk This Way

Ryan Walker wasn't able to strand the runner on second when he entered for Wood, but he still had another strong night. The rookie right-hander tied a career-high by completing three innings and threw 43 pitches, his third-highest total since being recalled.

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Walker allowed two hits and struck out three, lowering his ERA to 2.40. The Giants will get Luke Jackson back this weekend and Walker is one of the few pitchers on staff who has minor league options remaining, but it's hard to see how they can send him back at this point.

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