The Houston Astros appear to be hitting their stride again as September starts and thoughts of the playoffs become more prominent among their players and coaches.

The Cincinnati Reds are trying to cope with an overwhelming number of injuries to their pitching staff and make it to the end of the season.

The clubs meet Monday night in the opener of a three-game series in Cincinnati.

Thanks to a just-concluded four-game sweep of the visiting Kansas City Royals, the Astros (75-62) improved to a season-high 13 games over .500 and are a major-league-best 68-43 since April 27. The Astros completed the sweep with a 7-2 victory on Sunday behind two home runs from Yordan Alvarez.

“I said there was going to be a moment we would all click, and that’s what’s happening right now,” Alvarez said.

Astros manager Joe Espada said, “That’s a pretty good Royals team. They’ve been playing very well. We went to Kansas City (in April), and we were not playing our best, but that’s why you play 162. We are getting closer to our goal, and we’re playing with a different intensity and focus, and we demonstrated that this series.”

Now the Astros turn their attention to the Reds (65-73), who snapped a three-game skid on Sunday with a 4-3, 11-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Jonathan India rebounded from getting picked off at second base on a catcher’s throw in the first inning to go 3-for-4, score the tying run on a headfirst slide and throw out a runner at the plate from second base in the 10th.

“I always say baseball is a game of failure,” India said. “We’ve got to learn how to deal with it. There are new experiences for us. We’ve got to get through it, but we got to finish strong. We have to win this this month and keep our heads held high.”

The Reds have had Houston’s number recently. In 2023, the Reds swept the Astros in a three-game series in Houston. In 2019, the Reds took all three games from the Astros in Cincinnati. The Astros won two of three in Houston in 2016, but before that, Cincinnati took all three in Houston in 2013.

The teams are headed in vastly different directions this season. While Houston sits atop the American League West and is shooting for its seventh division crown in eight years, the Reds have lost five of seven on their 10-game homestand and eight of 11 overall.

The Astros finished August with a 2.51 team ERA and a .185 opponents’ batting average, both of which led the majors.

Houston is scheduled to start right-hander Justin Verlander (3-4, 4.16 ERA) on Monday. The 41-year-old veteran will make his 13th start of the season and third since neck pain sidelined him for more than a month.

Verlander is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his two starts back, including getting tagged for seven hits and four runs in five innings on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

In three career starts against Cincinnati, Verlander is 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA.

The Reds will counter with rookie right-hander Julian Aguiar (1-0, 6.43 ERA), making his fourth start. Aguiar surrendered six runs, three homers and 10 hits in four innings on Thursday but received a no-decision as the Reds rallied late for a 10-9 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Aguiar has not faced the Astros in his career.

–Field Level Media