(My Sportsbook) - Jeff Francis is starting to show signs of being a pitcher who won 17 games last season. Francis takes the hill for the Colorado Rockies tonight in the middle portion of a three-game series with the Houston Astros at Coors Field.

Francis is just 4-8 with a 5.15 earned run average in 22 starts this year, but is beginning to come around. He has a 2.42 ERA over his last four starts, though he is just 1-0 in that span.

The left-hander got a no-decision on Sunday versus the Padres despite tossing seven innings of one-run, six-hit ball. The Rockies went on to lose the contest, 2-1.

Francis, 27, is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in two career starts versus Houston, which counters tonight with its ace.

Roy Oswalt, who turned 30 last Friday, is 5-1 with a 1.59 ERA over his last six games for the Astros. He threw a season-high 8 1/3 innings on Monday, getting a win over Chicago by limiting the Cubs to just four hits without a run.

The victory improved the right-hander to 13-9 on the season with a 3.91 ERA.

Oswalt has excelled against the Rockies in his career. He is 5-1 with a 2.14 ERA in eight career starts against them and 2-0 with a 3.15 ERA in three starts at hitter-friendly Coors Field.

Houston will try to rebound tonight behind Oswalt after having their season- high tying eight-game winning streak halted with Friday's 5-3 setback. Clint Barmes homered and Ubaldo Jimenez pitched six-plus solid innings to lead the Rockies.

Brad Hawpe scored two runs and drove in another while Garrett Atkins, Chris Iannetta and Troy Tulowitzki each had an RBI for Colorado, which has won three of four to pull within five games of first-place Arizona in the National League West despite still being eight games under .500 (67-75)

Darin Erstad went 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Ty Wigginton had a hit and drove in a run for the Astros, who fell seven games back of the NL wild-card leading Brewers.

Colorado won two of three when these two clubs met in Houston from April 18-20.