The Washington Nationals kick off a three-game series tonight against the Houston Astros in Houston. The Nationals enter the three-game series against the Astros with a 5-3 record over the last eight games, which includes the two consecutive series victories over the Reds and the Twins.

Tonight, right-handed pitcher Brad Lord will get the start for the Nationals. Lord has a 2-5 record and an ERA of 3.39, and the Natonals will face left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez, who has an 11-4 record and an ERA of 2.67. [More on tonight’s matchup later down in today’s Notes.]

The Washington Nationals secured a series win over the Minnesota Twins with a strong all-around performance in yesterday’s rubber match, highlighted by a stellar outing from Jake Irvin. Pitching in his home state for the first time in his MLB career, the Bloomington native delivered one of his best starts of the season. Irvin worked efficiently and effectively, tossing seven innings of two-run ball on just 86 pitches while allowing just five hits. After surrendering a solo home run and a sacrifice fly early, he settled in and held the Twins scoreless the rest of the way. Relievers Konnor Pilkington and Kyle Finnegan closed things out with ease, capping a strong pitching series in which Washington allowed just six runs across three games.

The offense supported Irvin from the jump, with CJ Abrams setting the tone by launching a leadoff homer. Abrams went on to spark more scoring with a single and two stolen bases in the third, eventually scoring on a Luis García Jr. sac-fly. Daylen Lile, who tripled in the fourth and later added a sac-fly of his own, played a key role alongside veterans Paul DeJong, Josh Bell, and Alex Call. Washington broke the game open in the fifth with a three-run rally, punctuated by RBI hits from Bell and Call and another sacrifice fly from Lile. The Nationals' balanced attack and aggressive baserunning proved too much for Minnesota, as they cruised to a 7-2 win and their second straight series victory.

On Deck…

Tomorrow night, the Nationals will continue their three-game series against the Astros with the scheduled first pitch at 8:10 p.m. EDT and are scheduled to send right-handed pitcher Michael Soroka, who has a 3-8 record and an ERA of 4.85, to the mound. The Astros have yet to name their starter.

In the hole…

On Wednesday, the Nationals will conclude the three-game series against the Astros with the scheduled first pitch at 2:10 p.m. EDT. The Nationals are scheduled to send left-handed pitcher MacKeznie Gore to the mound, who has a 4-10 record and an ERA of 3.52. Over his last three road starts, Gore has allowed just three earned runs on 11 hits with 17 strikeouts over 17.0 innings of work.