Washington @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( Mar 17, 2010 ) Washington 2, Houston 11
In his first start after requesting a trade, Roy Oswalt came up with his best performance of the season. The Houston Astros are hoping for a similar effort on Monday.
Oswalt goes for his second straight victory when the Astros begin a seven-game homestand with the first of a four-game series against the Washington Nationals.
With the Astros' struggles growing more and more frustrating for him, Oswalt recently had his agent contact Houston owner Drayton McLane and submit a trade request if the team's troubles continue.
Houston's lack of offense has been hurting Oswalt, who has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his 10 starts this season and recently went 0-4 over five outings despite yielding just 11 earned runs in 35 innings.
Following the request to be dealt, the 32-year old Oswalt tossed eight scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, surrendering just four hits and a walk while striking out nine in a 5-0 triumph.
Coming off a 2-4 road trip, the Astros are hoping for a repeat performance on Monday. Oswalt is just 1-5 at Minute Maid Park this season but owns a 3-1 career mark in 12 games - 10 starts - against the Nationals franchise.
Despite his unfavorable record, Oswalt enters Monday's matchup ninth in the National League with a 2.35 ERA and tied for fourth in WHIP at 1.01. Opponents are hitting just .209 against the veteran.
Opposing Oswalt will be Luis Atilano, who is in his first major league season.
Atilano began his career with back-to-back six-inning victories in which he yielded a total of three runs. However, the 25-year old right-hander has not worked more than 5 1/3 innings in his last five starts.
On Wednesday, Atilano limited the San Francisco Giants to two runs and four hits in 5 1/3 frames en route to a 7-3 victory.
Houston, which enters having lost six of its last eight, ended a nine-game losing streak at the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. Lance Berkman snapped a scoreless tie in the 10th inning with a two-run double.
The Nationals fell for the fourth time in six games as Nick Hundley gave the San Diego Padres a walk-off 3-2 win by delivering a pinch-hit RBI single in the 11th. Ryan Zimmerman drove in both runs for Washington with his 100th and 101st career home runs.
Adam Dunn has a lifetime average of just .261 (18-for-69) against Oswalt but has belted four homers and driven in eight runs.
Washington is 2-4 on its 10-game road trip.