HOUSTON -- The Rangers' rotation, needing a spark after a rough stretch that produced a four-game losing streak, will have a different look once the team concludes it weekend series at Houston.

Rookie left-hander Joe Palumbo will start Monday at Seattle. Right-hander Jesse Chavez, who was roughed up in his most recent outing, will move back to the bullpen. Right-hander Adrian Sampson, bumped to the ’pen after the All-Star break because of the lack of a need for a fifth starter, will take the mound against the Mariners on Tuesday.

Monday will be Palumbo's fourth Major League appearance. In two starts in June and one relief appearance in July, he has allowed 11 earned runs over nine innings. He has not pitched more than four innings in any of those games.

His most recent big league outing, however, was his most promising, and that gives manager Chris Woodward optimism. On July 7 at Minnesota, Palumbo threw three shutout innings of relief, allowing one hit and no walks.

"He was calm -- 'I'm going to execute my game plan, and what happens, happens,'" Woodward said. "That was the mentality he took out there. That kind of led to this decision. He's been pitching well ever since then."

Palumbo, 24, was scheduled to start Friday for Triple-A Nashville but was scratched ahead of first pitch because of the Rangers' decision to promote him. He has made three starts for Nashville, pitching to a 3.38 ERA, and he also has made 11 appearances -- 10 starts -- for Double-A Frisco, allowing 19 earned runs over 53 2/3 innings with 69 strikeouts and 1.27 WHIP.

Woodward has been impressed by how well Palumbo has handled the up-and-down nature of the last couple of months -- each of Palumbo's three promotions lasted exactly one day -- and cited the lefty's "New York mentality" as a reason why he believes Palumbo is eventually destined for a more permanent place on the Rangers' roster.

"Attack, loves to fight, doesn't give in," Woodward said. "Even when he didn't have a good outing, I felt like the conversation with him was very productive when we sent him down. He was taking all the criticism in stride. That growth is really impressive for me."

This bumps Chavez, who was moved to the rotation about a month ago out of necessity, back to the bullpen. He allowed seven runs in two-thirds of an inning on Wednesday, continuing a poor July that has produced a 13.91 ERA over three starts.

Santana on a roll

Heading into Friday, the Rangers' hottest hitter, Danny Santana was tied with Boston's Xander Bogaerts, Oakland's Jurickson Profar and Houston's George Springer for the American League lead with four home runs since the All-Star break. Santana has 36 hits in his last 100 at-bats entering the Silver Boot Series clash with Houston.