Hunter Brown’s shoulders slumped as soon as Rays outfielder Josh Lowe made contact with his first pitch of the fifth inning Wednesday. That changeup landed beyond the center-field wall. Brown’s next pitch,

The Houston Astros are still hoping to be a competitive team over the next few years while also entering a bit of a new era.

Brown (6-3) took the loss Wednesday against the Rays, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four.

Three of the five members of the original starting rotation are now hurt for a Houston squad fighting to stay afloat.

Astros' rotation takes another hit with Ronel Blanco to IL, tightening AL West race with Mariners, Rangers, and Angels.

With his importance to the rotation even greater given the Astros' injury situation, Lance McCullers Jr. turned in his most promising start of the season.

Placing Ronel Blanco on the injured list Thursday means three-fifths of Houston's season-opening starting rotation is sidelined.

Right now, Brown leads the American League with a 2.5 WAR, six wins, 5.241 hits per nine innings, 56 2/3 innings pitched and 0.318 home runs per nine innings. That puts him in the company of some of the league's best like Max Fried, Nathan Eovaldi, Tarik Skubal, Kris Bubic and Garrett Crochet.

Its Thursday, May 22 and the Mariners (28-20) are in Houston to take on the Astros (25-24). George Kirby is slated to take the mound for Seattle against Lance McCullers for Houston. The Astros are hoping to bounce back from an 8-4 loss and a dropped series against the Tampa Bay Rays when McCullers takes the mound today.