Nationals at Astros
As the Washington Nationals await the return of one star right-hander, they will look for a solid outing from another when Stephen Strasburg goes opposite Houston Astros ace Dallas Keuchel on Thursday in the finale of a three-game interleague series in Texas. Strasburg will be making his second start since coming back from an elbow issue, looking to build upon a positive return when he allowed two runs and four hits over six innings at San Diego on Saturday.
While Strasburg returns to form, fellow All-Star Max Scherzer (neck) will not rejoin the rotation Friday at home against the New York Mets as the club had hoped. The Astros ended a nine-game losing streak against Washington with Wednesday's 6-1 victory in this matchup of division leaders, riding seven innings of one-run ball by Mike Fiers and three home runs in their best offensive effort in a week. Houston's All-Star shortstop, Carlos Correa, is slated to begin a rehab assignment Thursday as he works his way back from thumb surgery.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, MASN (Washington), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Stephen Strasburg (10-4, 3.24 ERA) vs. Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (11-2, 2.58)
Strasburg has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last seven road starts and is 7-2 with a 2.43 ERA away from home. He is 10-3 with a 3.06 mark in 19 interleague starts and allowed three runs in nine innings over his two prior encounters with the Astros. The 29-year-old will be making his first career appearance in Minute Maid Park.
Keuchel was rocked for eight runs in four innings at the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 8, but he has recovered in fine fashion with back-to-back impressive wins. He first let up a run in 6 2/3 frames to win at Texas and returned home to blank Oakland over seven innings on Friday. The former Cy Young Award winner, who sports the best ERA in the AL among pitchers with at least 100 innings, has a 5.73 ERA in two career starts versus Washington and will be wary of Howie Kendrick (8-for-18, one home run against Keuchel) and Ryan Zimmerman (4-for-6, two doubles).
WALK-OFFS
1. Kendrick had two more hits Wednesday to bump his average to .348 since joining Washington last month.
2. Astros 3B Alex Bregman had a three-run blast Wednesday and is batting .335 with eight homers and 25 RBIs since July 4.
3. Scherzer, who went on the disabled list on Friday (retroactive to Aug. 15), is hoping to throw a bullpen in the next day or two.