The Astros had the kind of Monday night that leaves a mark. Their bats showed up, but Mike Burrows’ rough outing on the mound helped turn a promising start to the three-game series against Washington into a 12-11 loss.
Now the focus shifts to Tuesday, where Houston gets a chance to steady things against Nationals left-hander Andrew Alvarez. A win would do plenty to erase some of the sting from the opener and get the Astros pointed back in the right direction.
Alvarez has been one of Washington’s more interesting arms this season. After making only five starts in 2025, he has put together a strong 2026 so far, posting a 3.05 ERA across 41 1/3 innings.
He has struck out 48 and walked 16, and in 11 appearances, five have come as starts. He’s still a rookie, though, and that gives Houston’s veteran lineup an opening if Alvarez leaves anything over the plate.
Tuesday’s game is set for Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., with first pitch at 6:45 p.m. EDT.
The Astros will be on Space City Home Network, while the Nationals are on Nationals.TV. On the radio, Houston has KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2 and KLTN-TUDN 102.9 FM, with Washington on WJFK 106.7 The Fan.
Houston sends right-hander Tatsuya Imai to the mound, and he enters at 5-4 with a 6.14 ERA. Alvarez gets the ball for Washington at 2-1 with that 3.05 ERA.
A few individual matchups stand out for the Astros in this one.
Nick Allen is the only Houston hitter with any real history against Alvarez, and even that sample is tiny: two plate appearances, one walk. Still, it’s more than the rest of the lineup has, so maybe there’s something there for the Astros to lean on before first pitch.
Then there’s Yordan Alvarez, who looms as the biggest threat in the order. His numbers against left-handers are still excellent - a .295/.354/.591 slash line - even if they’re a tick below what he does against righties. Against a pitcher with Andrew Alvarez’s profile, Houston will be expecting its star slugger to make the difference.
Christian Walker is another key name, and his production against left-handed pitching has been a problem in 2026. He’s hitting just .206/.313/.441 in those matchups, with four home runs and 11 RBI. Batting cleanup, he’ll need to snap out of that trend if the Astros are going to punish a young lefty and even the series.
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The bigger concern for opponents is how complete the threat has become. Wood leads the majors in runs scored and is tracking toward a rare power-speed season for a player his age, the kind of profile that can change an inning before a lineup has fully settled in. Against Houston, he added to a stretch that has already made him hard to miss. [Read more 🡒]