The Houston Astros entered their three-game road series against the Atlanta Braves with plenty of momentum. The Astros were just coming off of a home series win over the Toronto Blue Jays, as they moved to just a game under the .500 mark.

The Astros ended up putting together one of the more convincing series wins by any team in the early stages of the 2023 season, completing a series sweep against the Braves on Sunday in what was a rematch of the 2021 World Series.

The Braves’ high-octane offense struggled to muster up much against Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier in the series finale. The right-hander tallied 10 strikeouts and allowed a mere three hits in 6.0 innings pitched against Atlanta. Overall, Atlanta failed to record a hit in each of its nine at-bats with runners in scoring position in the contest.

Alex Bregman was a standout performer for the Astros in the series. For one, he logged a much-needed two-run single in the ninth inning that provided the reigning World Series champions with a 5-2 lead.

“I thought we played a lot better baseball this series than we’ve been playing,” Bregman said after Houston's 5-2 win on Sunday. “I thought it was a great team win today, and basically all three days.

“We played good baseball and hope we keep it rolling.”

The Astros now boast a 12-10 record on the season, and they sit just 2.5 games behind the Texas Rangers for the top spot in the American League West standings. They will now look ahead to a three-game road series against the Tampa Bay Rays beginning on Monday.