Nationals bring 1-0 series advantage over Astros into game 2

Jul 7, 2026, 04:02 am

Houston Astros (45-48, third in the AL West) vs. Washington Nationals (47-45, fourth in the NL East)

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

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Tatsuya Imai (5-4, 6.14 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 60 strikeouts); Nationals: Andrew Alvarez (2-1, 3.05 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 48 strikeouts)

LINE: Nationals -124, Astros +102; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals face the Houston Astros with a 1-0 series lead.

Washington is 47-45 overall and 19-27 at home. The Nationals have a 34-16 record in games when they scored at least five runs.

Houston is 22-24 in road games and 45-48 overall. The Astros have gone 24-10 in games when they hit at least two home runs.

Tuesday's game is the second meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: James Wood leads the Nationals with 47 extra base hits (22 doubles, a triple and 24 home runs). Luis Garcia is 15 for 38 with four doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI over the last 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez has 29 home runs, 59 walks and 67 RBI while hitting .318 for the Astros. Isaac Paredes is 11 for 38 with a double, two home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 6-4, .279 batting average, 5.06 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs

Astros: 5-5, .246 batting average, 5.06 ERA, outscored by seven runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Jacob Young: day-to-day (hand), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Irvin: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Trevor Williams: 60-Day IL (elbow), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mitchell Parker: 60-Day IL (elbow), Richard Lovelady: 15-Day IL (tricep), Max Kranick: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Astros: Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kai-Wei Teng: 15-Day IL (knee), Jeremy Pena: 10-Day IL (calf), Lance McCullers: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Carlos Correa: 60-Day IL (ankle), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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