Astros take road losing streak into matchup with the Nationals

Houston Astros (6-14, fifth in the AL West) vs. Washington Nationals (8-10, fourth in the NL East)

Washington; Friday, 6:45 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Justin Verlander (0-0); Nationals: MacKenzie Gore (2-0, 2.81 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 23 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -172, Nationals +144; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros travel to the Washington Nationals looking to stop a three-game road slide.

Washington has an 8-10 record overall and a 2-4 record in home games. The Nationals have gone 5-2 in games when they scored five or more runs.

Houston has a 6-14 record overall and a 2-5 record on the road. Astros hitters are batting a collective .270, the best team batting average in the AL.

Friday's game is the first time these teams square off this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: C.J. Abrams has three doubles, two triples and five home runs for the Nationals. Jesse Winker is 14-for-37 with five doubles, two home runs and three RBI over the past 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with five home runs while slugging .526. Jose Altuve is 16-for-40 with four doubles, two home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 6-4, .237 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs

Astros: 3-7, .284 batting average, 6.57 ERA, outscored by 19 runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Keibert Ruiz: 10-Day IL (illness), Josiah Gray: 15-Day IL (elbow), Victor Robles: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Stone Garrett: 10-Day IL (ankle), Cade Cavalli: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jose Ferrer: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Astros: Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Framber Valdez: 15-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jose Urquidy: 15-Day IL (forearm), Justin Verlander: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press