Astros Favored to Win Another Series in Washington
Houston Favored in Astros vs Nationals Odds Despite Record
Verlander Set to Make His 2024 Debut In Series Opener For the Astros
Will a trip to Washington cure what is ailing perennial World Series contending Houston or can the Nationals build on a rare series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers? The Astros vs Nationals odds favor the Astros to take the weekend series.
Washington snapped a three-game losing streak to Houston with a 4-1 win on the road in the most recent meeting. The last time the teams played a series in Washington, the Nationals scored 13 times in their lone win but were outscored 14-1 in the other two games. The Nationals haven’t been favored against the Astros since 2014 although a 2019 game won by the Astros did go off as a Pick’em.
The MLB betting lines have Houston priced at -172 to win Friday’s series opener with Washington at +145 to win the game outright. The Astros have -108 odds to cover against the run line as the 1.5-run favorite compared to -115 odds for the Washington Nationals to cover as a 1.5-run underdog.
When looking at the baseball odds, Houston is fourth at +900 in the odds of winning the World Series with Washington well back at +25000 in the championship odds.
Astros vs Nationals 
Records: Houston Astros (6-14), Washington Nationals (8-10)
Location: Nationals Park, Washington, DC
Day/Time: Streaming: Space City Home Network, MASN
Probable Starting Pitchers
- Game 1, Friday: Justin Verlander (Astros) vs Mackenzie Gore (Nationals)
- Game 2, Saturday: Ronel Blanco (Astros) vs Trevor Williams (Nationals)
- Game 3, Sunday: Cristian Javier (Astros) vs Mitchell Parker (Nationals)
Verlander Set to Return
It might be hard to find a more intriguing matchup of starting pitchers than what is set to take place in the series opener when considering MLB bets today.
The Astros will be turning to 41-year-old Justin Verlander as he pitches for the first time since the 2023 playoffs.
The Nationals turn to 25-year-old Mackenzie Gore, a key piece in the trade that sent outfielder Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres. Gore was six years old when Verlander made his Major League Baseball debut.
The last time that Verlander faced the Nationals, he won his 250th career game as he allowed one run and five hits in 5.1 innings. It has been an interesting start to the season for the Astros starting pitchers with Cristian Javier, Ronel Blanco, and Framber Valdez are a combined 4-0 with a 1.43 ERA while Hunter Brown and J.P. France are 0-5 with a 6.58 ERA. Keep that in mind when looking at the Astros vs Nationals odds.
Five of Houston’s last six games against National League teams have gone under the total.
Bumpy Ride for the Nationals
Good luck trying to figure out this Washington Nationals team. After dropping a series to the lowly Oakland Athletics, the Nationals went to Los Angeles and took two of the three games against a Los Angeles Dodgers team that has the best odds of winning the World Series.
Washington took the series finale as C.J. Abrams hit his fifth home run of the season in the first inning and four Washington pitchers combined to hold the powerful Dodgers lineup to five hits. The Dodgers were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Nationals games have had plenty of late-game drama with 10 of the 18 games being decided by either one or two runs. Could that play a role in the Astros vs Nationals odds?
The total went under in nine of Washington’s last 12 games.
Who’s Hot
- C.J. Abrams, Washington Nationals SS: Abrams is 10-for-20 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, four runs, and three RBIs in his last five games.
- Jose Altuve, Houston Astros 2B: Altuve has at least two hits in five of his last seven games. He is batting .467 during that stretch.
- Ronel Blanco, Houston Astros P: Opposing hitters are 6-for-76 in Blanco’s first three starts.
- Mackenzie Gore, Washington Nationals P: Gore struck out 11 of the 19 batters he faced while tossing five scoreless innings in his last start.
Who’s Not
- Jose Abreu, Houston Astros 1B: Abreu is 2-for-32 with 11 strikeouts in his last 10 games.
- Ryan Pressly, Houston Astros P: Pressly’s ERA jumped to 9.45 after allowing two hits and two runs in one inning in Wednesday’s loss to Atlanta.
- Tanner Rainey, Washington Nationals P: Rainey has walked seven batters and allowed nine hits in six innings of work this season.
- Eddie Rosario, Washington Nationals OF: Rosario has two hits and four strikeouts in his last 18 at-bats.
Astros vs Nationals Injury Update
Wondering why the Astros are struggling? Take a look at the number of pitchers on the injured list with Kendall Graveman, Lance McCullers Jr, Penn Murfee, Jose Urquidy, and Framber Valdez among the injured pitchers.
Catcher Keibert Ruiz is questionable for Washington. Outfielders Stone Garrett and Victor Robles are out as are pitchers Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli.
Astros vs Nationals Betting Preview
Is former Cy Young Award winner Verlander arriving at the right time to reverse the fortunes of the sinking Astros? Houston is just 4-10 as a favorite this season and 2-5 on the road. The Astros were 65-61 outright as a favorite in 2023 and they led the majors with 56 road victories.
Washington is 7-10 as the underdog and that could play a role in the MLB score predictions in this series.
Keep an eye on the MLB weather conditions with a 33% chance of rain and 10 mile-per-hour winds a possibility in the series opener.
Four of Houston’s seven road games have landed over the total with the total set at nine for Friday’s series opener. Houston has won five of its last six games at Washington and is favored to add to that total this weekend.
Eleven of the Astros’ last 16 games against National League East teams went under the total. Four of Washington’s last five games at home went under as well.
Astros vs Nationals Lines
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