(Photo credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)

Following a tumultuous start to the season largely dictated by injuries, the Houston Astros have enjoyed a stretch of consistently solid pitching that has steered their crawl back into contention.

While Houston starters have produced a 3.33 ERA over the last 16 games, Astros relievers have settled into more defined roles, a situation that should improve when closer Josh Hader is reinstated from the injured list in advance of a three-game interleague series with the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates starting on Tuesday.

Hader (left bicep) last pitched for the Astros on Aug. 8, 2025, and he will anchor the back of the bullpen upon his return. The remaining relievers appear to have already found ways to contribute.

'It's starting to feel that way,' Astros manager Joe Espada said. 'It starts with our starters taking us five, six innings, and then the guys in the bullpen, they know, 'This is my pocket.'

'The way we talk about it when the game starts: 'This is my pocket, and this is where I'm going to be pitching.''

Right-hander Mike Burrows (3-6, 5.40 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros on Tuesday. He will make his first career appearance against his former team; Houston acquired Burrows from the Pirates on Dec. 19, 2025, as part of a three-team trade also including the Tampa Bay Rays.

Burrows matched his season high of seven innings pitched in a 4-3 road win over the Texas Rangers on May 27, allowing two runs on five hits with one walk with six strikeouts. Burrows has allowed 13 home runs in 11 starts, tied for the most in the American League and matching the total he surrendered in 2025 when he made 23 appearances and 19 starts.

Rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler (1-6, 4.85 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener for the Pirates. He did not record a decision in his previous start against the Chicago Cubs last Wednesday after allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts over five innings in the Pirates' 10-4 loss.

Chandler is winless over his last seven starts, going 0-5 with a 5.91 ERA during that span. However, he has enjoyed moderate success on the road, averaging 10 strikeouts per nine innings while limiting opponents to a .198 average in six road starts.

Chandler will make his first career appearance against the Astros.

Behind a stellar performance from right-hander Braxton Ashcraft, the Pirates completed a three-game interleague series sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 9-3 victory on Sunday.

Ashcraft allowed two runs on five hits and recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts over six innings. He had only 80 pitches on his ledger when the Pirates went to their bullpen leading by seven runs in the top of the seventh inning, confirming their strategy to limit the workload on starters when the opportunity to do so is presented.

'We understand there's a goal in mind, and that's to play good ball in October,' Ashcraft said. 'Setting ourselves up to be able to do that is ... foremost (in) our minds. Taking opportunities whenever the offense does just put a lot of runs across the board and puts us in situations to be able to play the game a little bit different, (we're) taking advantage of those.'

--Field Level Media