Sometimes you have to hit the bottom before bouncing back.

The Portland Timbers reached the depths in their last home match, a 6-2 loss to rival Seattle on Aug. 15.

The Timbers rebounded by going 3-1-1 on their just-completed five-game trip and will play host to the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night at Providence Park.

The Timbers (10-10-3, 33 points) won their final three games of the trip, all by shutouts, including a 2-0 victory at Seattle, to move into fifth place in the Western Conference.

"Each win gives you more confidence, gives you more desire to continue on this path," Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said, "and I think the group is in a good place right now."

The Timbers capped the trip with a 1-0 victory at Vancouver thanks to an own goal.

"We believe in us," Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco said. "We have amazing talent, an amazing team, but we need to show that on the field. Sometimes you need a little luck too, and we are now in a different position."

The Rapids (12-4-6, 42 points), who are third in the West, boast the longest active undefeated streak in MLS at eight matches (5-0-3).

They're coming off a 1-1 draw Saturday against the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy, as Michael Barrios scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season. It came on a header off a cross by Andre Shinyashiki.

"I think that in past years, we played the big-name teams and we used to be scared, used to always be unsure of ourselves," Shinyashiki said. "This year, we've really taken that step where we feel like we can go toe-to-toe with them. I just think that that mentality coming into the game gives us a lot of confidence that we can always beat anybody on any given day."

This will be the first meeting between the Rapids and Timbers this season.

--Field Level Media