At first blush, the challenge facing the Houston Astros over the opening four games of their 10-game homestand seems minor when taking into consideration the opponent is the Detroit Tigers.

The rebuilding Tigers entered the series having lost 27 of 36 games since the All-Star break, and they featured three rookies plus three others with fewer than 450 career plate appearances in their starting lineup Monday.

While facing such an inexperienced group would seem to favor the Astros, there is an inherent difficulty in pitching against players wholly unfamiliar to the staff.