NEW YORK — With their pitching staff sputtering amid a playoff push, the Houston Astros are turning to a familiar face in search of a spark.

Longtime Astros pitching coach Brent Strom will rejoin the organization as a pitching consultant for the season’s final 29 games, manager Joe Espada announced Thursday. Strom is expected to be in uniform and in the dugout for Houston’s series opener against the New York Mets on Friday at Citi Field.

“Strommy is one of the architects for this organization on the pitching side of things,” Espada said before Thursday’s game at Yankee Stadium. “I’m excited to bring him back, listen to his perspective, his experience. I feel like there’s a value in having him around right now as we make this push here to win the division.”

Houston entered Thursday with a half-game lead over the Texas Rangers atop the American League West despite a 4.68 ERA. Only five teams have a higher one. Dismissed general manager Dana Brown’s inability to fortify the staff — especially Houston’s struggling starting rotation — during the trade deadline frustrated many in the Astros clubhouse. That Brown’s six major-league offseason additions have produced a 5.51 ERA didn’t help matters, either.

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Just two starting rotations have a higher ERA than Houston’s 5.17 mark. The team has received just 10 starts of at least seven innings across the season’s first 132 games.

“Sometimes, we can spend a lot of time looking at things that are not particularly important right now during this stretch,” Espada said. “It’s about competing, me against him, and my experience with Strommy has been that. It’s something we can all use during this stretch.”

Strom, 77, spent eight seasons as the Astros’ pitching coach from 2014 to 2021, a stretch in which Houston separated itself as one of the premier pitching organizations in the sport. From 2015 to 2021, no American League team posted a lower ERA than the Astros, and only one — the Cleveland Guardians — had a lower WHIP.

After his Astros tenure, Strom had coaching stints with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2023, Strom oversaw the Arizona pitching staff that captured the National League pennant. Pittsburgh did not renew Strom’s contract after last season.

Under Strom’s watch, the Astros produced two American League Cy Young Award winners — Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander — and a runner-up in Gerrit Cole. Strom earned industrywide acclaim for his part in helping to turn around the careers of Cole, Verlander, Collin McHugh, Charlie Morton and Ryan Pressly.

Strom has worked with multiple members of the Astros’ existing pitching staff, including setup man Bryan Abreu, starter Cristian Javier and offseason trade acquisition Mike Burrows, whom Strom coached with the Pirates.

“He’s got this presence about him (to) connect with younger pitchers (and) older pitchers,” Espada said. “Also, (he is) very simple in how he teaches things. He can go outside the box, but he also stays on, ‘This is what you need to compete during the stretch.’ There is that experience that I think is needed.”

Strom left the Astros after the 2021 season. At the time, he described the decision as an opportunity for him to reset and for Houston to enjoy the work of his two proteges — Josh Miller and Bill Murphy — who had assisted him throughout the season. Miller remains the Astros’ head pitching coach. Murphy left the organization this winter to become the Pirates’ pitching coach. Ethan Katz replaced Murphy and now assists Miller.

“It’s a fresh (set) of eyes. He’s going to be in our meetings. He’s going to be helping in the throwing programs, video analysis,” Espada said. “I just feel like this is something we will benefit from having around.”