The Houston Astros are set to reinstate right-hander Jake Odorizzi off the injured list on Monday and give him the starting assignment in the opener of a four-game series against the visiting Kansas City Royals.

Odorizzi last pitched May 16 because of lower leg discomfort. His return will yield a six-man rotation for the Astros, with Houston manager Dusty Baker giving right-hander Justin Verlander additional rest between his previous start and his next scheduled outing in the series finale against the Royals on Thursday. Verlander threw eight scoreless innings in a win against the New York Mets last Wednesday, and his 97 1/3 innings are second on the staff to Framber Valdez (101 innings).

"We're going to back JV up because he has a lot of innings," Baker said. "We've just got to make sure that he stays healthy all the way through the season. When you're coming off Tommy John, you're still not out of the woods, but this guy has carried a lot of workload in the first half of the season. He's been remarkable up to this point. We just have to make sure that he stays fresh."