After the Astros opened the season with four consecutive losses en route to a 7-19 start, Houston manager Joe Espada took extreme care to not look too far ahead while his team labored through its shaky opening stretch.

But after completing a three-game series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with an 8-1 home victory on Sunday, Houston closed to within two games of .500 for the first time since it started 0-2.

And now, with the Colorado Rockies -- whom the Astros swept during a two-game interleague set in Mexico City in late April -- in town for a two-game series starting Tuesday, Houston is in prime position to finally square its season record.

"You keep it going," Espada said. "I think we can use this series as a trampoline and build momentum. You can't get comfortable after beating a team like Baltimore and then thinking (we're) OK. We've got to keep going, and I'm sure those guys (in the clubhouse), they're ready to go."

Hunter Brown (4-5, 4.72 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Astros on Tuesday.

The right-hander is in the midst of the best stretch of his career, having logged six consecutive quality starts while going 3-1 with a 1.70 ERA and 41 strikeouts against eight walks over 37 innings. He twirled back-to-back scoreless outings against the Angels and Tigers before allowing one run on seven hits with six strikeouts over six innings in a 4-1 road win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

In his lone career start against the Rockies, Brown surrendered four runs on six hits -- including a pair of home runs -- with seven strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings in a 4-3 road loss on July 18, 2023.

Left-hander Austin Gomber (1-4, 4.36 ERA) will start Tuesday's opener for Colorado. He is winless over his last five starts, going 0-2 with a 7.01 ERA and .906 opponent OPS during that span. Gomber did not factor into the decision of the Rockies' 11-9 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 18 after allowing four runs on five hits -- including two home runs -- and two walks with three strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings.

Gomber is 1-2 with a 4.74 ERA over three career starts against Houston. In his previous outing against the Astros, Gomber allowed four runs on six hits and three home runs with two strikeouts over seven innings in an 8-2 loss in Mexico City on April 28.

Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland made his first start in more than two months on Sunday and twirled six shutout innings while allowing one hit and one walk with four strikeouts before the Rockies lost 2-1 to the Washington Nationals.

Freeland had been sidelined with a left elbow strain since mid-April, and even though Colorado lost for the sixth time in eight games, his return to the rotation provided a bit of a boost for a scuffling team needing good news.

Despite the Rockies being 24 games under .500 and mired in last place in the National League West, Freeland spoke to the need for Colorado to continue growing as a team and to lean into the promise of a brighter future. His stellar performance provided a reason to do exactly that.

"You can't ask for more from Kyle in his first start back," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "... He was outstanding."

--Field Level Media