The Houston Astros (7-14) travel to face off against the Washington Nationals (8-11) on Saturday, April 20th. This game will be played at Nationals Park in Washington and televised on None. The Astros are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Nationals are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Nationals. First pitch is set for 4:05 ET.

Astros vs Nationals

Houston picked up a 5-3 road win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. The Astros had a three-run 2nd inning and added two more in the 5th. As for the Nationals, they scored their first run in the 3rd and added two more in the 9th.

Justin Verlander started for the Astros and picked up the win, going six innings and giving up two earned runs. He finished the game with just four strikeouts and allowed one home run. MacKenzie Gore struggled on the mound for the Nationals, giving up three earned runs in just four innings of work.

Riley Adams hit the game’s only home run while going 2/3 with three RBIs, but it came in a losing effort. Jeremy Pena had a three-hit game for the Astros, scoring one run and driving in another.

As the Astros are on the road today vs. the Nationals, they are looking to move back to .500, as they are currently 7-14. In the AL West, they are in 5th place and four games behind the Rangers. So far, they have gone just 4-9 at home and 3-5 on the road.

Houston picked up a win in their most recent game, closing out their series with the Braves with a win. This came after being on a four-game losing streak. The Astros have an overall series record of 2-3-1 this season.

When the Astros are favored, they are just 5-11 vs. the run line, but they have covered in three straight games. Overall, they are 8-13 vs. the run line this season, with a -1.0 run differential. Their average run differential in wins is +5.3, while it’s -4.1 in losses.

When the Astros and Nationals met on Tuesday, the over/under line was set at 8 runs. The game ended with exactly 8 runs scored, resulting in a push for bettors. This was the first time in the last 10 games that the Astros played in a game with an over/under line set below 9 runs. Overall, the Astros have played in 19 games this season, and the over has hit in 8 of them.

Ronel Blanco Gets The Start For The Astros

Ronel Blanco is on the mound for the Astros today in their road matchup against the Nationals. Blanco has been dominant in each of his first two starts, as he has yet to allow an earned run. His most recent outing was a 6-inning win against the Rangers, where he struck out 4 and gave up just 1 hit.

Astros Offense Breakdown

For the Astros, our player projections are favoring Yordan Alvarez to have a big game at the plate. He has the highest home run projection on the team and is 3rd in the league in terms of home run projections today. Jose Altuve has the 4th highest hits projection in the league today, while Alex Bregman is 17th. Yainer Diaz is 17th in terms of total hits projections today and 6th in terms of home run projections.

As the Nationals are at home today, they are looking to move above .500, as they are currently 8-11. In the NL East, they are 5.5 games behind the Braves, and they are in 4th place in the division. So far, they have really struggled at home, going 2-5.

Washington has been just above average on the road, putting together a record of 6-6. Coming into today’s game, the Nationals have a series record of 2-4. When favored, they are 1-1 this season, and as the underdog, they are 7-10.

When the Nationals win, they do so by an average of 2.4 runs per game, which has helped them to an 11-8 run line record. However, they have been a much better bet on the road, going 9-3 against the run line, compared to just 2-5 at home. As an underdog, the Nationals have gone 10-7 against the run line, compared to just 1-1 as the favorite.

The Washington Nationals have an over/under record of 8-10 this season, with the average line set at 9 runs per game. Their games have averaged 8.1 runs per game, and their over/under record when the line is set at 9 runs is 0-0. Overall, 73.7% of their games have had lower lines than 9 runs, with just 26.3% of their games having higher lines.

Trevor Williams Gets The Start For The Nationals

Washington’s Trevor Williams is getting the start at home against the Astros. Williams has been solid in his first two outings, picking up a win in his last start against the Giants. He went 5 1/3 innings in that one, striking out 5 and only allowing 3 hits.

Nationals Offense Breakdown

Looking at the Nationals’ player projections, we see that Lane Thomas has the best odds to hit a home run today, as his home run projection is 8th best in today’s slate of games. Joey Gallo has the 9th best odds to hit a home run today. CJ Abrams is our top projected Nationals player in terms of total hits, as his hits projection is 11th best in today’s games. Joey Meneses has the 16th best total hits projection in today’s games.

Astros vs Nationals Prediction

Our prediction for today’s Astros vs. Nationals game is to take the Nationals on the money line, where they are offering a payout of +152. We have the Nationals winning this one by a final score of 6-5.

Looking at the starting pitchers, Ronel Blanco is projected to finish with five strikeouts, and Trevor Williams is projected to finish with five as well. However, Williams has the second-worst chance of picking up a win among starters today.

All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.