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Sep 23, 2010 - 4:27 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Houston (73-78) at Washington (63-88), 4:35 p.m. EDT

In his last start, Nelson Figueroa could have helped the Houston Astros' starters set a team record for consecutive games without a loss.

In Thursday's series finale against the host Washington Nationals, the right-hander will try to help the Astros avoid their first three-game losing streak in more than a month.

Claimed off waivers in July, Figueroa (5-3, 3.51 ERA) is 2-2 with a 3.65 ERA in seven starts since coming out of the bullpen in his first eight appearances for the Astros (73-79).

Looking to win his third straight decision, the right-hander yielded five runs - three earned - and seven hits over 4 1-3 innings of Saturday's 11-1 loss to Cincinnati. Figueroa's outing snapped a franchise record-tying 17-game stretch without a loss by an Astros starter.

"It's frustrating when your pitch count is going up and you feel like you're making good pitches and you battle and get outs," Figueroa told the Astros' official web site following his 104-pitch outing.

Figueroa, who went 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in two relief appearances against Washington in April, will try to help the Astros bounce back from back-to-back losses. Houston's last three-game skid was an 0-4 stretch from Aug. 4-8.

The Nationals (64-88) will counter with Ross Detwiler (0-2, 2.37) as they try to win three in a row for the first time since Sept. 4-6.

The left-hander and sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft has made his last three appearances out of the bullpen after missing a month with a right hip strain.

Detwiler, who had hip surgery in February, is 0-2 with a 3.46 ERA in three starts this season. He was tagged for seven runs - four earned - and nine hits in his last start, an 8-4 loss at Arizona on Aug. 5.

"My hip feels good and I'm just glad to be out there pitching," Detwiler told the Nationals' official website after throwing two shutout innings of relief in a 4-0 loss at Atlanta on Sept. 13.

Detwiler will try to win his first game since Sept. 28 as he faces Houston for the first time.

He may not have to pitch to Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence. Bourn has missed three straight games with a strained right side muscle, while Pence could be sidelined a second consecutive contest after leaving in the first inning of Tuesday's 8-4 loss with right hip pain.

Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn is day-to-day with a bruised right elbow after getting hit by a pitch in Wednesday's 4-3 victory. Dunn has no hits in seven at-bats against Figueroa, so it wouldn't be a surprise if manager Jim Riggleman kept him out of the lineup in the teams' final meeting this season.

"We'll make a couple lineups out tomorrow, and he may or may not be in there," Riggleman said of Dunn, who has a team-best 35 homers and needs four RBIs to reach 100 for the fourth straight season.

Washington has won 10 of 14 at home versus Houston.