The Houston Astros entered the All-Star break on a downswing, losing five out of their last six games against the Cleveland Guardians, who swept them, and the Texas Rangers, who won two out of three.

That was not the kind of finish the Astros were hoping for, but they have to be happy overall, sitting in first place in the American League West with a 56-40 record, five games clear of the second-place Seattle Mariners.

Houston will have the opportunity to expand that lead right away, with the AL West rivals set to start a three-game series in their first matchup out of the All-Star break.

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Originally, it was announced that the Astros would be going with left-handed pitcher Brandon Walter in Game 1, followed by right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. in Game 2 and left-handed ace Framber Valdez taking the mound in the series finale in Game 3.

It was surprising for some to see Hunter Brown not scheduled to start in the first series, and ultimately, the team must have thought the same thing.

That is because, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Houston made a change to their probable starters against Seattle.

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Instead of Valdez taking the mound on Sunday, it will be Brown toeing the rubber in the finale, with the lefty set to take the mound at some point in their three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks set to begin on Monday.

Valdez, who last started on July 12, will have at least one week between starts for the second consecutive outing.

It worked last time, as he put together a gem against the Rangers that day, striking out 10 across six innings, allowing only one unearned run.

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Brown, who started the team’s first-half finale on July 13, was going to have a little extra rest after showing some signs of wear and tear in his final two outings before the break, surrendering 10 earned runs in 11 innings after giving up only 21 earned runs across his first 104 innings of work this season.

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