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Jun 2, 2009 - 5:16 AM By DAN PIERINGER STATS Writer

Colorado (20-29) at Houston (20-28), 8:05 p.m. EDT

Jim Tracy's tenure as manager of the Colorado Rockies got off to a promising start over the weekend. The club's last two games, however, have taken the shine off that early success.

The Rockies look to break out of their offensive funk and avoid a third straight defeat Tuesday night when they continue a four-game road series against the Houston Astros.

Colorado (20-30) won Tracy's debut 3-0 over San Diego on Friday night and followed that with an 8-7 walkoff victory over the Padres the next day. Those wins lifted spirits in the Rockies' clubhouse after the team fell to the bottom of the NL West under fired manager Clint Hurdle, who guided the team to the NL pennant in 2007.

But it didn't take long for the Rockies' new-found optimism to hit an obstacle. They lost 5-2 to San Diego on Sunday before falling 4-1 at Houston on Monday. They've totaled 19 strikeouts in the consecutive defeats, including five in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position. They have one hit in such situations, in part because Colorado batters have been hitting the ball directly at fielders, Tracy noted.

"That's not going to continue," Tracy told the Rockies' official Web site. "Sooner or later, we're going to find our niche, where this blooper, that blooper really does damage. Our fair share of those are going to come. Since I've been sitting here for four days, we've certainly line-drived enough."

Astros outfielder Carlos Lee had been dealing with some offensive struggles of his own before going 3 for 3 with a two-run home run to lead Houston (21-28) to its third win in four games Monday.

Lee, who has finished each of the last six seasons with at least 99 RBIs, had not driven in a run since May 16 - his longest drought since he joined the Astros before the 2007 season.

"I would say these last two weeks have been the toughest two weeks of my career," said Lee, batting .319. "I've always been able to get an RBI here or there. These last two weeks have been really tough. I felt great at the plate (Monday). I don't know how that happened."

Lee hopes to stay hot against Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez (3-6, 4.37 ERA), who will try to bounce back from consecutive losses. After going 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA over his previous three outings, Jimenez lost at Detroit on May 22, then gave up five runs in 6 2-3 innings of an 8-6 defeat against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

The right-hander is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in three career starts against the Astros, including a 12-1 win May 12 in which he held them to one run over seven innings.

The Astros are winless in six games started by rookie Felipe Paulino (1-4, 6.75), whose only win came in relief May 2. The right-hander had a 2.55 ERA in three April starts but posted an 8.80 ERA in three starts in May. He gave up five runs in six innings of a 6-1 loss at Cincinnati on Wednesday.

Paulino's worst start was May 12 against Jimenez and the Rockies, who reached him for eight runs in four innings.

Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada is batting .443 with three homers, nine RBIs and nine runs scored during a 15-game hitting streak, the longest active run in the NL. He's 5 for 13 (.385) with four RBIs and four runs scored in four games against Colorado this year.