Nationals take on the Astros in series rubber match

Houston Astros (7-15, fifth in the AL West) vs. Washington Nationals (9-11, fourth in the NL East)

Washington; Sunday, 1:35 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Cristian Javier (2-0, 1.54 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 18 strikeouts); Nationals: Mitchell Parker (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, four strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -189, Nationals +159; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Both the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros are looking for a series win with a victory on Sunday.

Washington has a 3-5 record at home and a 9-11 record overall. The Nationals are 3-6 in games when they have given up at least one home run.

Houston is 7-15 overall and 3-6 on the road. The Astros have the fourth-best team slugging percentage in MLB play at .421.

Sunday's game is the third meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: C.J. Abrams leads Washington with six home runs while slugging .700. Jesse Winker is 14-for-36 with two home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.

Kyle Tucker has six doubles and five home runs for the Astros. Jose Altuve is 17-for-42 with four doubles, two home runs and four RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 5-5, .234 batting average, 3.68 ERA, outscored by five runs

Astros: 3-7, .282 batting average, 6.47 ERA, outscored by 22 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), 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.