(Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images)

The Houston Astros were a season-worst 11 games under .500 four times this month and have been as many as six games out of first place in the American League West.

However, with the division devoid of a juggernaut, the Astros just needed one hot streak to climb back into contention. That stretch came via a 7-3 road trip capped by a 5-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday that allowed Houston to close to within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Seattle Mariners.

The Astros will open a nine-game homestand against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, revitalized and surprisingly in the mix.

'That's the whole idea of putting April behind us,' Houston manager Joe Espada said. 'Make every month better, every day better. And we're not done. We've got to get ready for a good Brewers team that's coming to town.'

Added Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena, who returned from the injured list for the start of the road trip: 'We are showing up. We have guys that show up to compete. Our pitchers have done a phenomenal job, our defense has been great. We're taking good at-bats and we're feeding off the momentum.

'We're going to keep it going. We're going home, and let's get it.'

Right-hander Kai-Wei Teng (3-3, 2.19 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros on Friday.

It will mark the fourth consecutive start and fifth overall for Teng, who is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA since joining the rotation on May 10. He threw a season-high 89 pitches over a season-best six innings in a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. He allowed two hits and three walks while striking out six.

Teng, who is 2-2 with a 2.65 ERA as a starter this season, will make his first career appearance against the Brewers. He is 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA in nine career interleague outings, including two starts.

Rookie Coleman Crow (0-0, 2.61) is scheduled to make his third start in the interleague series opener for the Brewers.

The right-hander made his major league debut on April 17 against the Miami Marlins and did not factor into the decision of a 7-5 victory after allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.

Crow yielded one run on three hits with three strikeouts and no walks across five-plus innings on May 15 in the Brewers' 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. He has a 4-1 record and a 4.89 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) with Triple-A Nashville this year.

The Brewers continued their torrid play by rallying for a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. The result secured a three-game series sweep and Milwaukee's 15th win over the past 19 games.

Center fielder Garrett Mitchell ignited the Brewers' two-run, eighth-inning rally with a leadoff double, extending his individual hot streak at the plate. Mitchell will enter the Houston series with a .357/.400/.679 slash line over his past nine games, a span in which he collected three doubles, two homers and six RBIs.

'Mitchell has been putting things together, and it's fun to see him after the years he's had injured and everything else,' Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. 'It's fun to see him kind of come into his own and gain some confidence. It was great.'

--Field Level Media