The Nationals have the best record in the Majors and have won 5 straight while the Astros have the worst record and have dropped 4 in a row. <\/p>\n
Venue\/ Stadium: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas<\/strong> PITCHING MATCHUP:<\/strong>\u00a0Nationals RH Jordan Zimmermann (8-6, 2.45 ERA) vs. Astros RH Lucas Harrell (9-7, 3.98)<\/p>\n Matchup<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Preview<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros Preview<\/strong><\/p>\n Washington has been red-hot for the last few weeks, but so have the Braves, who only trail the Nationals by 4 games in the NL East. MLB odds have the visiting Nationals as the favorite with a total of 7.5 runs.<\/p>\n In yesterday’s game the Nationals beat the Astros 4-3.<\/p>\n This season the Nationals have an O\/U record of 50-53 with a run-line W\/L record of 56-55 and the Astros have an O\/U record of 60-49 with a run-line W\/L record of 56-56.<\/p>\n The Nationals are looking to complete the sweep tonight and they have won 7 of their last 8 games facing the Astros.<\/p>\n Jordan Zimmermann (8-6, 2.45 ERA) is on the mound for the Nationals tonight and he was not sharp in his last outing giving up 4 earned runs in 5 innings in a no decision facing the Miami Marlins. Lucas Harrell (9-7, 3.98 ERA) gets the nod for the Astros and in his last outing he gave up 2 earned runs in 6 innings in a win over the Atlanta Braves.<\/p>\n Even though he got a no decision in his last start Zimmerman is 5-0 with a 1.65 ERA over his last 8 starts, but he is 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA in his career facing the Astros.\u00a0[dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n Houston has lost 20 of their last 22 games and the only 2 wins have come when Harrell was on the mound and he is 3-2 with a 2.26 ERA over his last 8 outings.<\/p>\n The Astros will need a good start from Harrell since they only rank 28th in the Majors in runs and 26th in team batting average.<\/p>\n The Nationals are not a high scoring team, but they have the best team ERA in the Majors.<\/p>\n 19-year old phenom Bryce Harper is 0-11 in this series and will be given the day off tonight.<\/p>\n In some betting trends for this NL match up the Nationals are 7-0 in their last 7 games as a road favorite, 4-0 in Zimmermann’s last 4 road starts, and they have an Under record of 4-0-1 in their last 5 games vs. a right-handed starter.<\/p>\n The Astros are 1-10 in their last 11 home games, 2-6 in Harrell’s last 8 starts as an underdog, and they have an Under record of 5-1 in their last 6 games.<\/p>\n
\nTime\/Date: 8 PM EST Thursday, August 9, 2012<\/strong>
\nMLB Odds From: Bovada<\/a><\/strong>
\nMoneyline: Nationals -185 \/ Astros +165 <\/strong>
\nOver\/Under:\u00a0 7.5 runs <\/strong><\/p>\n