The start of Isaac Paredes’ second season with the Houston Astros has not gone according to plan.

After he was an All-Star last season, Paredes entered play Monday hitting .190, slugging .254 and homerless after he had 20 long balls last season.

He believes things are starting to trend back in the right direction after hitting his first two homers of the season on Monday in the Astros’ 9-2 win over the host Cleveland Guardians in the series opener.

Paredes will pursue an encore when the teams meet again in the middle contest of a three-game set on Tuesday.

“A lot of happiness because of what I’ve been going through,” Paredes said on the postgame broadcast when asked about his feelings regarding the breakout game. “I think these home runs give me a lot of confidence to keep on going, to keep on competing.”

Cleveland will turn to breakout rookie Parker Messick (3-0, 1.05 ERA) as it looks to level the series on Tuesday. Houston will counter with rookie Ryan Weiss (0-2, 6.75).

Paredes’ confidence could stand to spread to the Astros as a whole. Their Monday win snapped a four-game skid and marked their first time plating at least nine runs since April 5 after doing so five times in the first 10 games of the season.

Houston, which has lost 12 of 15 since a 6-3 start, is in the basement of the American League West.

Messick will be making his first start since he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning of a 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. He ended up three outs away from delivering the franchise’s first no-hitter since Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981.

“He just keeps working,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Parker’s tenacious. He’s dedicated to his craft.”

While it was the strongest outing of Messick’s young career, it was far from an anomaly for the 25-year-old left-hander. After winning a rotation spot during spring training, Messick ranks third in the majors with a 1.05 ERA after four starts this season.

Through his first 11 major league starts dating back to last season, Messick has a 6-1 record and a 2.07 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 13 walks.

“He’s got such good stuff, executes every pitch,” Guardians catcher Austin Hedges said. “He’s got (six) pitches to work with and is throwing every one of them to righties and lefties. Hitting is hard already, but when you’ve got to cover that many pitches, that many speeds, that many shapes, executed, you’re going to get nights like (Thursday).”

This will be Messick’s first career start against the Astros. He will be seeking better run support after the Guardians stranded 12 runners in their Monday loss.

Weiss, who debuted in March, hasn’t found the same early success. The 29-year-old right-hander is coming off his first major league start, when he allowed two runs on three hits over 3 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.

The Astros are expecting to be without outfielder Taylor Trammell “for a little bit” after he sustained a left groin injury while running the bases in the Monday win, manager Joe Espada told reporters.

It’s a tough setback for Trammell, who is hitting .345 in 10 games since he was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land on April 10.

–Field Level Media