Astros Vs. Nationals Recap: Houston Had Its Opportunities

Someone has to root for the worst team in baseball and for past couple of years, it's been Astros fans. Houston continued its quest to record breaking failure this week against the Washington Nationals.

Astros Vs. Nationals: Houston Bats Silenced In 5-0 Loss

Houston's offense was held in check all night as the Astros fell to the Nationals 5-0 at Minute Maid Park on Thursday and were swept in the four-game series.

Lucas Harrell was solid, allowing two earned runs over five innings in the start, but he didn't get any help. Washington opened the scoring with two runs in the fourth inning.

A combination of five Houston relievers gave up three earned runs over the final four innings. Mickey Storey gave up one earned run in the sixth inning, Fernando Rodriguez gave up one in the eighth and Wesley Wright allowed one in the ninth.

At the plate, Brett Wallace had three of Houston's five hits, going 3-for-4. Marwin Gonzalez went 1-for-4.

Astros Vs. Nationals: Game Preview, TV Info And More

Facing a four-game sweep and having lost two games directly due to fielding errors, the Houston Astros (baseball's worst team) are ready to send off the Washington Nationals (baseball's best). Luckily for Houston, they'll start Lucas Harrell, who is 6-1 at home this season with an ERA of 2.02 in nine home starts. A win for the Astros would break up what's been a devastating slide the last two months: Houston is 4-33 in their last 37 games, and have only one win in August.

Date / Time: Thursday, August 9, 7:05 p.m. CT

Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas

TV: Fox Sports Houston

Radio: KTRH 740, KLAT 1010

Probable Starters: Jordan Zimmerman (8-6) vs. Lucas Harrell (9-7)

Read more on the Astros at The Crawfish Boxes and SB Nation Houston. Head over toFederal Baseball and SB Nation DC for more on the Nationals. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Astros Vs. Nationals Final Score: Houston Drops Another Close Game, 4-3

The Houston Astros were unable to snap their losing streak and were unable to avoid a series loss to the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night. After a 4-3 loss, they will have to try to avoid the four-game sweep and a sixth straight loss on Thursday.

The game got off to a typically ignoble start, as Armando Galarraga balked in Bryce Harper for the first Nationals run. Justin Maxwell managed to hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first to tie things up, but Nats starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the second inning to put Washington back on top, 3-1.

Carlos Corporan hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to get one of those runs back for the Astros. The score stayed at 3-2 until the seventh inning, when Ryan Zimmermann scored on a throwing error by third baseman Matt Downs.

Ben Francisco hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to bring the Astros back to within a run, but Downs struck out swinging with runners on second and third to end the game.

Read more on the Astros at The Crawfish Boxes and SB Nation Houston. Head over to Federal Baseball and SB Nation DC for more on the Nationals. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Astros Vs. Nationals: Wednesday Night Lineups

The Houston Astros look to snap a four-game losing streak on Wednesday night, as they look to take the third game of a four-game series against the first place Washington Nationals.

Both Brad Mills and Davey Johnson have announced the starting lineups for Wednesday night's contest, and here they are:

Washington Nationals

2B Steve Lombardozzi
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
LF Michael Morse
RF Jayson Werth
SS Danny Espinosa
C Kurt Suzuki
SP Gio Gonzalez

Houston Astros

2B Jose Altuve
3B Matt Downs
1B Steve Pearce
RF Justin Maxwell
JF J.D. Martinez
C Carlos Corporan
CF Brandon Barnes
SS Marwin Gonzalez
SP Armando Galarraga

The Astros have dropped the first two games -- both in extra innings, so Mills and Houston's coaching staff will likely be looking for a solid start from Galarraga.

Houston's lineup will also face a tough test tonight, as they take on Gio Gonzalez, who is enjoying an excellent season for the Nationals.

For the latest on the Astros, be sure to check out the Crawfish Boxes.

Astros Vs. Nationals: Wednesday Game Preview, TV Info And More

The Houston Astros are already 1-5 in the month of August and looking for their first win of a four-game series against the Washington Nationals, who are surging atop the NL East. 30-year-old Armando Galarraga is looking for his first major league win with Houston since being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City. So far the majors haven't been kind - Galarraga gave up six runs in 10 and 1/3 innings against the Pirates and Braves. Another call-up center fielder Brandon Barnes, went 0-for-3 in his debut Tuesday, subbing for the injured Jordan Schafer.

Date / Time: Wednesday, August 8, 7:05pm CT

Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas

TV: Fox Sports Houston

Radio: KTRH 740, KLAT 1010

Probable Starters: Gio Gonzalez (13-6) vs. Armando Galarraga (0-1)

Read more on the Astros at The Crawfish Boxes and SB Nation Houston. Head over toFederal Baseball and SB Nation DC for more on the Nationals. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Astros Vs. Nationals Final Score: Houston Falls In Extra Innings Again, 3-2

There's something about the Astros, Nationals, extra innings and Roger Bernadina. For the second straight night, the Stros were defeated by the Nationals in extra innings and Benadina played a critical role in the end. This time the final score was 3-2.

On Monday Houston got in its own way with consecutive errors leading to Bernadina's game winning score in the 11th. But the Nationals left fielder earned his heroic status in Tuesday night's victory.

With Brett Wallace at the plate in the bottom of the 12th, two on and two out facing Tyler Clippard and his shaky stuff, Wallace sent a rocket deep to left center field, and Bernadina was there to make as good a catch as you'll see. Hats off to him, even if he robbed the Astros of their first extra innings win of the season.

On a lighter note: Jordan Lyles looked pretty good through seven innings, that two-run blast by Danny Espinosa aside. Lyles gave up only three hits in his seven innings of work, while striking out six and walking three.

Espinosa also plated the game winning run for the Nationals with an RBI single in the 12th inning.

Read more on the Astros at The Crawfish Boxes and SB Nation Houston. Head over to Federal Baseball and SB Nation DC for more on the Nationals. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Astros Vs. Nationals: Tuesday Preview, TV Info And More

The Astros lost a tough one against the Nationals in their series opener on Monday, but Tuesday presents a new opportunity for Houston to shock the world and get back into this series. With one or two less errors, the Astros could be looking for their second consecutive win and fifth win since the All-Star break.

Unfortunately the story isn't so glamorous. And Houston is sending Jordan Lyles (2-8, 5.95 ERA) to the hill on Tuesday to face Ross Detwiler (6-4, 3.02 ERA) in the pitching duel.

For the Nationals, playing against the Stros is a chance for them to strengthen their lead in the NL East division. But for Houston, playing against Washington is almost close to unfair.

Check out the game schedule and broadcast information here:

Date/Time: Tuesday, Aug. 7, 8:10 p.m. ET

TV: FOX Sports Houston

Online streaming: MLB.tv

Read more on the Astros at The Crawfish Boxes and SB Nation Houston. Head over to Federal Baseball and SB Nation DC for more on the Nationals. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Astros Vs. Nationals Final Score: Houston Loses In Extra Innings, 5-4

A pair of errors in extra innings eventually led to the Astros' downfall on Monday night as they lost the series opener against the Washington Nationals, 5-4. After the game, Nationals manager Davey Johnson told the media that everything that could go wrong for the team on Monday night did, but they still managed to win.

Johnson said the Nationals bent, but didn't break - which is true. They were also playing the Astros, Major League Baseball's worst team at the moment and near future.

Kurt Suzuki's bunt attempt in the 11th inning led to a collision between Brett Wallace and Wilton Lopez, which preceded Wallace's miscue to first base. Then, Brian Bogusevic with that rocket arm of his, overthrew home plate to allow Roger Bernadina to score the game winning run.

It was a gutty performance for the Astros until the tail end.

Read more on the Astros at The Crawfish Boxes and SB Nation Houston. Head over to Federal Baseball and SB Nation DC for more on the Nationals. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Astros Vs. Nationals: Monday Night Lineups

The Houston Astros look to turn around their recent losing ways on Monday night, as the Astros open up a series against the first-place Washington Nationals.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced, and they are as follows:

Washington Nationals

SS Danny Espinosa
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
LF Michael Morse
1B Adam LaRoche
RF Jayson Werth
C Kurt Suzuki
2B Steve Lombardozzi
SP Edwin Jackson

Houston Astros

2B Jose Altuve
SS Marwin Gonzalez
1B Brett Wallace
RF Justin Maxwell
3B Scott Moore
LF J.D. Martinez
CF Jordan Schafer
C Carlos Corporan
SP Dallas Keuchel

Astros fans will get a look at one of baseball's youngest sensations, as Bryce Harper is batting second for Davey Johnson's Nationals.

Keuchel faces a tough task, as Washington's lineup is fairly potent. Keuchel has also lost each of his last four starts, and has surrendered more than four earned runs in each of those starts.

For the latest on the Houston Astros, be sure to check out the Crawfish Boxes.

Astros Vs. Nationals: Houston Welcomes NL East Leader To Minute Maid

The Houston Astros are looking for their fourth win since the All-Star break.