Vegas Play of the Day: Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants

By Case Keefer (contact)

Wednesday, June 11, 2014 | 2 a.m.

I may never hit another wager in the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point and features $10,000 starting bankrolls.

Just know it wasn’t for a lack of trying. I don’t know if effort makes my extended losing streak better or worse.

Washington Nationals plus-117 at San Francisco Giants: $300 to win $351

This run was bound to come. Exactly two weeks ago, the Nationals were sitting at 25-27 overall.

It was clear they had underachieved through two months of the season, with most of the blame falling on themselves but also some indicators that they had gotten unlucky and were better than their win-loss record showed. One obvious characteristic that pointed to a forthcoming bounce-back was their run differential, which was too high for a team with a losing record.

Wallah, and Washington has gone 9-2 ever since to work its way into a tie atop the National League East division. There’s no better way to announce an arrival than by beating up on what’s been the best team in baseball so far in a series.

Having taken the first two games in a series of four, that’s exactly what Washington can do with a victory in San Francisco tonight. The Nationals quietly have an advantage on the mound with Tanner Roark having served as a terrific starter this year.

Matt Cain gets the start for the Giants, and though still dangerous, he’s been uneven this season. With the game looking close to a toss-up, happily taking the hotter team at a plus-price is the way to go.

Standings: Bern (31-21-1, $12,679), Keefer (24-31, $7,723), Brewer (18-27-3, $4,450)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.