(Photo credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)

With All-Star shortstop Jeremy Pena starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land and outfielders Yordan Alvarez and Jake Meyers continuing to ramp up baseball activities, the Astros are inching closer to having several starters back from the injured list.

Until those front-line performers return, the Astros will need more of the balanced attack they received in their 7-4 interleague win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. The victory snapped a five-game losing streak and set the table for a series rubber match Wednesday afternoon in Houston.

Eight different Astros recorded hits, and Houston finished 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday. Given all of the absentees, it was the sort of collective effort Houston required.

'There are so many young players that we need them to do the things they're doing,' Astros manager Joe Espada said. 'They're learning, they're grinding.'

Rookie right-hander Ryan Gusto (6-4, 5.18 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale for the Astros. It will mark his 14th start and 24th appearance overall; Gusto is 5-4 with a 5.85 ERA as a starter.

He allowed a season-high eight runs on eight hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings in a 15-3 loss to the Athletics on Friday. Gusto made three consecutive relief outings before that start.

Gusto will make his first appearance against the Nationals. He is 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA in six career interleague outings, including three starts.

The series finale against the Nationals will mark the end of the Astros' seven-game homestand. Houston will begin a nine-game road trip on Friday in Boston following a much-needed off day.

'Trying to win series, that's the goal,' Espada said. 'Gusto, we need him to go out there and give us a solid outing. We need that off day, and we'd love to make it a happy flight.'

Left-hander MacKenzie Gore (4-10, 3.52 ERA) will start for the Nationals on Wednesday.

Gore has allowed three earned runs on 11 hits and 10 walks with 17 strikeouts across 17 innings in his last three road starts, including a 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Friday, when he surrendered one run on one hit with six walks and four strikeouts in five innings. Gore has just one win over his last eight starts, going 1-5 with a 4.68 ERA.

He is 0-1 with a 2.79 ERA in two career starts against the Astros. He lost 5-3 on April 19, 2024, after he allowed three runs, seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts over four innings.

The Nationals endured a sub-optimal bullpen performance on Tuesday, one game after Konnor Pilkington, Luis Garcia, Jose Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan combined for a lockdown effort. Veteran pitchers should offer the inexperienced relievers room for growth.

'We've got a good mix right now in the bullpen with some veterans and some young pitchers,' Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo said. 'They've been taking advantage of having Finnegan, (Andrew) Chafin and now Garcia. This is the time for them to learn how to be a competitor.'

--Field Level Media