The Astros fell to 1-3 in Grapefruit League play Sunday, as the home portion of the Washington Nationals beat Houston 9-4 at Space Coast Stadium in Viera.
Brandon Backe got the start for the Astros and pitched two scoreless innings. His teammates got him out to a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning, when Jason Lane and Luke Scott each hit solo bombs off Nationals starter Zach Day. Brandon Duckworth surrendered that lead and let DC tie the game in the 4th, which included a solo homer by Brad Wilkerson.
Chad Harville came unglued in the bottom of the 5th, allowing four runs (three earned). The unearned run came on a throwing error by Harville. The Nationals added three more runs in the bottom of the 6th with a couple of RBI singles off Mike Gallo.
Willy Taveras scored in the top of the 6th on a double by Jose Vizcaino. Chris Burke also hit a solo homer in the top of the 7th, the third Astro homer of the day.
Burke played at second base while Craig Biggio got the day off. Vizcaino also spelled Jeff Bagwell at first. The Astros will head to Clearwater on Monday afternoon to play the Phillies, with Carlos Hernandez starting the game for Houston. First pitch is 12:05pm CDT.
