Brooks yielded three runs on five hits and also notched four strikeouts. The 31-year-old righty, who was added to the Cardinals' 40-man roster last week, is vying for the fifth spot in the team's Opening Day rotation.

The move ensures that Brooks will be on the Cardinals' Opening Day roster. It remains to be seen whether he will open the season in the team's rotation as a temporary replacement for an injured Jack Flaherty. The 31-year-old righty spent the last two seasons with the Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization.

It should be noted that the Astros brought only minor leaguers for position players today, and even those starters were out of the lineup by the time the 31-year-old Brooks entered in the seventh. Still, fanning five of six batters will get some notice. Brooks is in Cardinals camp on a minor league deal after spending the last two years in Korea. He wasn't supposed to be much of a threat to win a job, but with Alex Reyes and possibly Jack Flaherty IL bound and maybe more to come, he might already be putting himself into the mix.

Brooks signed a minor league deal with the Padres last September, but never ended up pitching for the club. The 31-year-old has actually pitched for the Kia Tigers in the KBO for the past two seasons, but his stint there came to an end last year after customs officials found traces of marijuana in a vape pen that he ordered online. Brooks holds a rough 6.49 ERA over 47 appearances (including 28 starts) in the majors and will mostly function as organizational depth going into camp.