Houston continues the cursed month of April with three games in our nation’s capital.
The Astros get three chances to take on the Washington Nationals starting at 5:45 PM on Friday.
Houston and Washington have played each other 457 times in regular season play, starting when the Nats were known as the Montreal Expos. Houston owns a 248-209 edge for a .543 winning percentage, their third-best record against a National League team. Of course, the two teams met once in the postseason, but that’s all I’m going to say about that.
The last time these two met was from June 13 through 15 last season at Minute Maid Park. The Astros won the first two games before the Nats salvaged one victory, 4-1 in 10 innings in the finale. In Houston’s last win, on June 14, Jose Abreu led the Astros with three hits and three RBI, with his fourth homer of the season. Kyle Tucker collected a pair of hits, and Yainer Diaz (4) also went deep. Framber Valdez earned no decision despite holding the Nats to one run on five hits and no walks over seven frames, striking out six. Ryan Pressly earned the win despite giving up three unearned runs in the ninth inning, in the 5-4 Houston victory. The game ended on a disputed walk-off run-scoring error, in which Jake Meyers grounded into a 5-2 out, but was hit in the helmet when the relay came to first. Abreu crossed the plate for the win.
I can’t do nothing about those umpires. I really can’t. Like I said, they need to take a look at that … And that’s all I’m going to say about it. I’m done with it. If they’re not going to fix it, then we move on and that’s it. — Nats manager Dave Martinez.
Houston recently completed a three-game series against Atlanta, getting swept for the third time in six series this season while getting outscored 17-7. In the series finale, Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Yainer Diaz each collected a pair of base hits. Alvarez (5) and Mauricio Dubón (1) each went deep in the loss. JP France earned no decision, giving up two runs in five innings. Josh Hader struck out the side in a perfect ninth, and Seth Martinez was tagged with the loss when he surrendered a run in the 10th.
I feel like we’re in a lot of games, but we just haven’t found a way to win them. Good teams find a way to win games, so we need to find a way to win games. — Alex Bregman
Washington is coming off a three-game series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the series finale, the Nats pitched a combined five-hit shutout. Jake Irvin (1-1) earned the win with six innings of shutout four-hit ball, striking out six. Kyle Finnegan earned his seventh save with a perfect ninth. Washington earned the win despite getting outhit, five-to-four. CJ Abrams and Joey Meneses each collected an RBI in the win.
They’re really good hitters and a really good lineup, But at the end of the day, they’ve got to put the ball in play. The thought was just to go into attack mode. Don’t give them anything free and make them earn it. — Jake Irvin
Standings
Houston Astros: 6-14, .300, fifth in AL West, 4.5 games back, 14th in AL, five games back of the wildcard spot, 27th in MLB. On pace for 49-113 (that’s replacement level), projected by FG at 84-78. Last 10: WLLLLWWLLL. Playoff Odds: 59 percent on FG. Still favored to win the AL West.
Washington Nationals: 8-10, .444, fourth in NL East, 12th in the NL, 2.5 games back of the wildcard position, 23rd in MLB. On pace for 72-90, projected by FG at 67-95. Last 10: WWWLLWLWLW. Playoff Odds: 0.3 percent on FG.
GameTime and Starting Pitchers
Friday, 5:45 PM CT: Justin Verlander (0-0, 0.00) vs. MacKenzie Gore (2-0, 2.81)
Saturday, 3:05 PM CT: Ronel Blanco (2-0, 0.86) vs. Trevor Willliams (2-0, 3.45)
Sunday, 12:35 PM CT: Cristian Javier (2-0, 1.54) vs. Mitchell Parker (1-0, 3.60)