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The Washington Nationals will be home to face the Houston Astros on Friday night. The Astros are rolling right now, as Thursday's win marked their tenth straight victory, moving them to 21-11 on the year. On the other side, the Nationals dropped their third consecutive series and are now 11-22.
The Nationals will have Josiah Gray on the mound Friday, who will be looking for his fifth win of the year. Gray has been Washington's best starter by far, and he'll need to have his best stuff Friday to shut down a solid Astros lineup. Houston is ranked 10th in OPS and fourth in home runs, and even though they're only averaging 4.3 runs on this winning streak, they're a team that puts the ball in play often and has power bats up and down their lineup. If they can get Gray's pitch count up, they should be able to handle a weak Nats' bullpen that ranks seventh-worst in ERA.
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"My goodness, Josiah." - @ Washington Nationals
The Astros will tab lefty Framber Valdez Friday, who is carrying a 3.34 ERA and has a streak of three consecutive quality starts. He'll be looking to push that streak to four against a mediocre Nationals lineup that has some talented hitters at the top of the order. Juan Soto is up to eight home runs after he went deep in both Wednesday and Thursday's contests. He has, however, struggled in same-sided matchups and is hitting just .170 on the year against southpaws. The Astros bullpen backing up Valdez has the best ERA in the majors and has been a key factor during their winning streak.
"Framber Valdez gets Willi Castro on 3 straight curveballs." - @ Apollo Media
The Nats are just 4-7 against left-handed starters this season, so look for Valdez to shut down Washington's bats Friday.
Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros Match Details
Fixture: Houston Astros @ Washington Nationals
Date & Time: Friday, May 13, 7:05 p.m. EDT
Venue: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros Betting Odds
The Nationals have been abysmal at home this year, especially recently, where they've dropped 10 of their previous 11 home games. The Astros are 12-7 as the road team and have seen the total go under in six of their last seven.
Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros Best Picks
Framber Valdez is coming off of a seven-strikeout performance against the Detroit Tigers, and in all of Valdez's starts where he's gone at least six innings, he's K'd at least five batters three out of four times. Expect him to mow down a lineup that has just a .639 OPS against lefties.
Pick: Framber Valdez Over 4.5 Strikeouts (+104)
Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros Betting Prediction
With the way these two clubs have been trending, expect Houston to record their 11th straight win while relying on Valdez and their excellent bullpen. This year, the Astros are 18-5 as favorites, so look for them to make that 19 on Friday.
Prediction: Houston Astros ML (-150) & Under 8 Runs (-105)
