Brown covered five innings out of the bullpen in Saturday's 8-2 loss to the Tigers, giving up one earned run on five hits and no walks while striking out seven.

EDGE Analysis

Though he worked in relief after starting in each of his previous seven appearances, Brown delivered arguably his best outing of the campaign, with the seven punchouts matching a season high. Despite Brown's strong showing, the fact that he was bypassed for a start and entered the game in the bottom of the third inning with the Astros trailing 7-0 speaks to the lack of trust he had from the coaching staff heading into Saturday. According to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros won't have Brown rejoin the rotation for any of their first three games of the four-game series with Oakland to open the upcoming week. Cristian Javier was lit up for seven earned runs while recording just four outs before exiting Saturday's contest, and the Astros aren't yet committing to Javier taking the hill for Thursday's series finale versus the Athletics. If the Astros want to give Javier at least one more day off to regroup from his rough outing versus the Tigers, Brown could re-enter the rotation Thursday.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Thursday that Brown could be available out of the bullpen for the next few days, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

Brown last pitched on Sunday and had been on turn for a start Saturday in Detroit, but Cristian Javier (neck) is returning that day and Justin Verlander will move ahead of Brown to pitch Sunday on regular rest. Brown seemingly would be set up to make a start Monday versus the Athletics if he doesn't pitch in relief before then, but it doesn't appear that has been decided yet. Espada hasn't ruled out the possibility of using a six-man rotation for a while, which would leave room for both Brown an Spencer Arrighetti to keep making starts.

Brown didn't factor into the decision Sunday against Seattle, allowing two runs on five hits with four walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out five.

EDGE Analysis

Despite tying his season high in walks, Brown allowed only a pair of runners to score and held the Mariners to just one extra-base hit. Brown has lasted less than five innings in five of his seven starts this season and owns an ugly 8.89 ERA through 27.1 innings. With Cristian Javier (neck) set to return in the next week or so, Brown's time in the rotation could be coming to a close. However, Houston could drop rookie Spencer Arrighetti instead. As it stands, Brown is tentatively scheduled for a start against the Tigers on Saturday.

Brown didn't factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing six runs on five hits and two walks across 5.1 innings against Cleveland. He struck out seven.

EDGE Analysis

Brown gave up at least five runs for the third time in his last five starts and walked multiple batters for the fifth time this season. He was tagged for a three-run home run in the first inning by Josh Naylor and a two-run home run in the sixth by Andres Gimenez. Through six appearances, Brown is 0-3 with a 9.78 ERA and a 2.22 WHIP over 23.0 innings. He's lined up for a start against the Mariners on Sunday.

Brown (0-4) allowed three runs on four hits and two walks over four innings to take the loss Sunday against the Nationals. He struck out six.

EDGE Analysis

Brown needed 34 pitches to get through the first inning, allowing three runs in the process. However, he was much better in the next three frames, facing just one more batter than the minimum, including striking out the side in the second. That's now 12 first-inning earned runs allowed by Brown through five starts this season. Despite the so-so outing, Brown saw his ERA drop from 10.54 to 9.68 and his WHIP fall from an abysmal 2.78 to a slightly less abysmal 2.49. Brown's next start is tentatively slated to take place next weekend, when the Astros travel to the high altitude of Denver to take on the Rockies.

Brown is being moved up in the rotation to start Sunday against the Nationals, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander was penciled in to start Tuesday against the Cubs but will instead face the Nationals since Cristian Javier was scratched due to neck discomfort. Brown delivered a quality start last Tuesday versus Atlanta, so he'll be on the typical four days rest and shouldn't have any limitations.

Brown (0-3) took the loss Tuesday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts over six innings against Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Despite ending up in the loss column, Brown turned in a quality start against one of baseball's best offenses. The outing was the definition of a rebound for Brown, who combined for 14 runs and 3.2 innings pitched during his previous two starts. However, the right-hander was left out to dry by the Astros' offense, which didn't get on the scoreboard until the bottom of the ninth. Excluding the pair of ugly showings, Brown has gone 10.0 innings with three runs (two earned) and eight strikeouts. He'll look for his first win of 2024 in a tentative matchup with the Cubs next Tuesday.

Brown (0-2) took the loss against the Royals on Thursday, allowing nine runs on 11 hits and a walk in just two-thirds of an inning.

EDGE Analysis

Brown could only record two outs Thursday while the Royals nearly batted around twice en route to a nine-run opening inning. The 25-year-old right-hander hasn't missed many bats to start the season -- he's now allowed 14 runs on 19 hits over just 3.2 innings in his last two starts, pushing his ERA up to 16.43 on the season. Brown's currently in line for another tough matchup next week versus Atlanta, though a trip to the minors could be in order if he can't right the ship.

Brown (0-1) allowed five runs on eight hits and four walks over three innings Friday, striking out three and taking a loss against Texas.

EDGE Analysis

Brown worked around a bases-loaded situation in the first inning but quickly rushed for five runs in the second. Only 45 of his 80 pitches went for strikes and he managed to force just five whiffs. Through two outings, Brown has thrown seven innings with a subpar 8:6 K:BB. He's projected to take the mound in Kansas City next week.

Brown took a no-decision Saturday, permitting one unearned run over four innings against the Yankees.

EDGE Analysis

The only damage the Yankees managed against Brown came when they scored on a Jose Abreu fielding error. They made him work, though, as Brown wasn't able to go beyond four innings because he threw 88 pitches. The right-hander fanned five batters on the day, picking up eight whiffs. Brown had issues in the second half last season, particularly with the home run ball as he served up a whopping 17 in 61.2 frames after the break. Keeping the ball in the park as he did Saturday could certainly lead to more consistency in 2024.