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Astros, Nationals finish out disappointing first halves

Jul 13, 2008 - 2:39 PM Houston (43-51) at Washington (36-59) 1:35 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Washington Nationals will host the Houston Astros Sunday in the rubber match between a pair of last-place teams.

While few expected the Nationals to contend this season with a young outfield and very little starting pitching depth, not many predicted an offense that ranks last in the majors with just a .240 team batting average and a paltry .359 slugging percentage.

Injuries to all four of their regular outfielders - Wily Mo Pena, Elijah Dukes, Austin Kearns and Lastings Milledge - along with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and first baseman Nick Johnson have robbed the team of its most potent offensive weapons.

The main problem with the Astros, on the other hand, has been their pitching. The staff ranks 13th in the National League with a 4.54 team ERA and has allowed the most homers in all of baseball.

Houston will send Brandon Backe (5-9, 5.07 ERA) to the mound on Sunday. The righthander has allowed 22 homers in 104.2 innings this season - ranking second in the NL - and is just 1-4 since May 23.

The Nationals will counter with lefthander Odalis Perez (2-6, 3.66), who was ejected from his last start after being called for two balks in an inning and getting into an altercation with home plate umpire Angel Hernandez.

"He's just stupid and (an) idiot," Perez said of Hernandez. "It's like he has something personal against me. I hate that. I lost the game, and I hate that so bad because he's bad. He's awful. He's the worst."