Brown (shoulder) struck out five and gave up one hit and no walks over two scoreless innings Sunday in a rehab start for Double-A Corpus Christi.
Brown opened his rehab assignment on a high note, spotting 21 of his 35 pitches for strikes while generating seven whiffs. The Houston ace is eligible to return from the injured list June 1, but general manager Dana Brown said earlier Sunday that the Astros are targeting the middle of next month for his activation, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The Astros are planning for Brown to build up to around 75 pitches prior to adding him back to the rotation, so he'll likely need at least two more starts in the minors to complete his ramp-up process.