Nationals at Astros Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for July 28
Brad Lord is slated to take the mound for Washington against Framber Valdez for Houston.
The Astros were embarrassed over the weekend. They were swept by the Athletics in a three-game series and were outscored 27-5.
The Nationals took two of three against the Twins in Minneapolis outscoring Minnesota 16-6.
Despite their recent skid, Houston remains atop the American League West by four games over Seattle and Texas. At 5-5 in their last ten games, Washington is within 1.5 games of fourth place Atlanta in the National League East.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Nationals at Astros
Date: Monday, July 28, 2025
Time: 8:10PM EST
Site: Minute Maid Park
City: Houston, TX
Network/Streaming: MASN2, SCHN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Nationals at the Astros
The latest odds as of Monday:
Moneyline: Nationals (+193), Astros (-235)
Spread: Astros -1.5
Total: 7.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Nationals at Astros
Pitching matchup for July 28, 2025: Brad Lord vs. Framber Valdez
Nationals: Brad Lord (2-5, 3.39 ERA)
Last outing: July 22 vs. Cincinnati - 2.25 ERA, 1 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 0 Walks, and 1 StrikeoutsAstros: Framber Valdez (11-4, 2.67 ERA)
Last outing: July 22 at Arizona - 1.29 ERA, 1 Earned Runs Allowed, 7 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 4 Strikeouts
Nationals: Brad Lord (2-5, 3.39 ERA)
Last outing: July 22 vs. Cincinnati - 2.25 ERA, 1 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 0 Walks, and 1 Strikeouts
Astros: Framber Valdez (11-4, 2.67 ERA)
Last outing: July 22 at Arizona - 1.29 ERA, 1 Earned Runs Allowed, 7 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 4 Strikeouts
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Nationals at Astros
The Astros have won 7 straight home games with Framber Valdez starting
The Under is 8-2 (80%) in the Astros' home games this season with Framber Valdez on the mound
The Nationals have covered the Run Line in 5 of their last 6 games
CJ Abrams had 2 hits Sunday but has just 4 in his last 29 ABs
If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight's game between the Nationals and the Astros
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Monday's game between the Nationals and the Astros:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Houston Astros on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Washington Nationals at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 7.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC
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