(Photo credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)

Perhaps the greatest display of evidence showcasing the Houston Astros' offensive struggles came Monday in the opener of a three-game home interleague series against the Washington Nationals.

Four Houston pitchers -- starter Framber Valdez and relievers Bryan King, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader -- combined for 19 strikeouts. However, the Astros managed only four hits in a 2-1 loss to the Nationals, their sixth consecutive home loss and fifth straight defeat overall.

Houston has just one win in its past 11 home games and has only eight runs during its current skid, including one run in each of the last three games.

'Teams go through scuffles like this during the season,' Astros manager Joe Espada said. 'Ten days, two weeks, when you feel like you can't get a knock with people on base. I think we're right there in the middle of that. We've just got to fight through it.

'Continue to get people on base, continue to have this mentality of 'I don't need to do it all on one swing.' Let's just pass the baton and let the next guy pick me up.'

Right-hander Jason Alexander (1-1, 8.14 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Astros on Tuesday. In just his second start of the season for Houston, he allowed five runs on 11 hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six innings in a 5-2 loss to the Athletics on Thursday. Alexander has made three appearances since Houston selected him off waivers on May 18.

In his lone career appearance against the Nationals on June 12, 2022, while pitching for Milwaukee, Alexander allowed one run on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings but did not factor into the decision of the Brewers' 4-1 victory.

Right-hander Michael Soroka (3-8, 4.85 ERA) has the starting assignment on Tuesday for the Nationals, who have won three games in a row.

Despite allowing one run on two hits and three walks with six strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in a 5-0 defeat to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, Soroka suffered his fifth consecutive loss covering eight starts. He has a 4.83 ERA over those eight starts with 48 strikeouts in 41 innings. Soroka has a pair of quality starts during his skid, matching his total from his first seven starts this season.

Soroka has faced the Astros once, tossing a scoreless inning of relief while allowing one hit and recording three strikeouts on June 20, 2024, while pitching for the Chicago White Sox.

Nationals interim manager Miguel Castro gave All-Star outfielder James Wood the day off on Monday, citing the lack of downtime Wood had after participating in the All-Star Game earlier this month.

Wood has a slash line of .114/.225/.396 with no home runs in nine games since the All-Star break after posting a .278/.381/.534 line with 24 homers and 69 RBIs in 95 games prior to that.

'I just wanted to give him some time to mentally come down and rest a little bit,' Castro said. 'I just wanted to give him a little break, more mentally. I told him to come on the last bus (to the ballpark) so he could relax and chill out. Just a chill day.'--Field Level Media