(Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)

The Astros capped another week of variance on Sunday by losing the finale of a four-game series against the Athletics 7-1, which sent Houston to its ninth loss in its last 10 home games.

The Astros were swept for the third time this season, with all three of those series coming at home. Houston will continue its seven-game homestand on Monday against the Washington Nationals, seeking solutions for an offense that repeatedly came up short against the Athletics.

The Astros finished 3-for-29 with runners in scoring position and stranded 22 baserunners in the series.

'We have to make adjustments for the next series,' Astros manager Joe Espada said. 'We have to go through our game planning and be better in certain spots where we have people on base.'

The Astros won the final four games of a six-game road trip that preceded their return home. They surrendered that momentum as quickly as they generated it against a last-place team, with another cellar dweller on tap.

'It's a series that we've got to put behind us, quickly,' Espada said. 'We walked, we got some people on base, we just couldn't get that bit hit. So we've got to flush that one out and get ready for the Nationals.'

Left-hander Framber Valdez (11-4, 2.67 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros on Monday. He allowed one run on seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts over seven innings in a 3-1 road win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Valdez is unbeaten over his last 13 starts at 10-0 with a 1.86 ERA and 92 strikeouts across 87 innings. The Astros have won all 13 of those contests.

Valdez is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA in two career starts against the Nationals. He did not factor into the decision of a 5-4 home win on June 14, 2023, after allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts over seven innings.

Rookie right-hander Brad Lord (2-5, 3.39) is scheduled to start the series opener for the Nationals. He allowed one run on six hits with one strikeout over four innings on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds but did not factor into the decision of a 6-1 home win. It marked his first start since May 6, when he allowed three runs on three hits and one walk with four strikeouts over six innings in a 9-1 home loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Lord made 26 consecutive relief appearances and went 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA. Lord is 1-4 with a 4.15 ERA in 30 1/3 innings over seven starts.

Lord will make his first career appearance against the Astros. He is 1-1 with a 4.08 ERA across 11 career games (one start) against the American League.

The Nationals won the rubber match of their three-game road series with the Minnesota Twins 7-2 on Sunday. The Nationals have won consecutive series for the second time in four weeks.

'It shows that we're beating good teams and that we're a good team ourselves,' said Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams, whose leadoff home run in the first inning provided the ignition. 'Just keep things going and bring it to Houston.'

--Field Level Media