The first place Washington Nationals are gunning for a sweep on Thursday against the Houston Astros, who almost resemble a professional baseball team. The Nats' three-straight wins over Houston seems par for the course until one takes a look at the box scores and realizes that Washington has won each of the three games -- two of which went to extra innings -- by just one run. Even though the Nats are in first place and on a five-game win streak, that's not a good look.

Bryce Harper, who has been struggling since the All-Star break, sits out the series finale. Here's the Nationals' lineup.

#Nats 8/9 Lineup: Lombo 2B, Bernadina CF, Zimmerman 3B, LaRoche 1B, Morse LF, Werth RF, Espinosa SS, Suzuki C, Zimmermann RHP

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 9, 2012

With Jayson Werth back on the active roster, the Nationals have the luxury to do things like resting Harper for a day.

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