The Houston Astros (4-5) and Washington Nationals (7-3) are set to begin a four-game National League Series on Monday night inside Nationals Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 ET

Houston Astros at Washington Nationals

Houston continues its seven-game road trip by traveling to Washington, dropping two of three games against the Miami Marlins, including a 5-4 loss on Sunday afternoon.  “These guys kept battling and doing a lot of things right, and I want to make sure they’re looking at things the right way,” stated Astros manager Brad Mills after the setback.  The Astros finished the contest 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.  The starting staff has placed the team in some early holes recently, registering a 5.88 ERA in the last five games.  Houston is 4-4 as a road underdog of +225 to +250 the last two-plus seasons.

Astros starting pitcher Kyle Weiland (0-1, 7.20 ERA) was handed a 6-4 home loss by the Atlanta Braves in his first outing of the season, allowing four runs and eight hits over five innings.  The right-hander is 0-4 with a 7.58 ERA in eight career outings (six starts) since the start of the 2011 campaign.

Washington had its five-game win streak in dropping an 8-5 extra-innings contest at home to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, as the team came in with its best nine-game record since moving to the DC area.  The Nationals have been getting solid production out of Jayson Werth in the early going, going 14-for-30 at the plate in this last seven games.  He’s starting to live up to the huge contract he signed during the 2011 offseason.  Washington is 4-0 this year when the total is 7 or less.

Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (1-0, 0.69 ERA) will receive most of tonight’s attention from the home crowd, especially with the team being 2-0 in his first two starts of the year.  The right-hander tallied his first victory of the season last time out, tossing six shutout innings and allowing just two hits in a 4-0 victory over the New York Mets on April 11.  Strasburg has managed to fan 14 and walk four in 13 combined innings.  It’s important to note that he comes in with a losing 2-3 record and 2.78 ERA in 11 home starts in his career.

Bettors will likely back the Nationals due to their 10-4 record in Strasburg’s last 14 starts, while the Astros are 14-41 in their last 55 road games.

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