After years of consistently being one of the most elite teams in baseball, this was supposed to be the season when the Astros were expected to have a down year by their standards.
Somehow, the Astros’ clubhouse didn’t get the memo.
Still battling injuries in the rotation and at key positions, and also lacking consistency at the plate, the Astros are again among the best in the American League. In fact, the Astros are moving toward the All-Star break with a strong grip on the AL West lead.
It hasn’t been the season that baseball analysts predicted for the Astros, but it’s what the players in the clubhouse have worked for.
“I think you’ve got a bunch of guys that believe in one another,” pitcher Hunter Brown said to the media. “I think the way that everybody goes about their preparation, when you start to see results through that preparation, you know you can build some confidence in that. I think that’s what you’re seeing right now.”
The Astros had been one of the hottest teams in baseball in June and nearly unbeatable at Daikin Park, but they slipped up uncharacteristically in their last two series heading into the All-Star Break, losing back-to-back series to the Cleveland Guardians (0-3) and Texas Rangers (1-2).
It wasn’t an ideal way to go into the All-Star Break, but the Astros still maintained a five-game lead for first place in the AL West over Seattle and have the second-best record in the AL with a 56-40 record.
This was in stark contrast to a few days earlier, when the Astros came off a rare road sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers to improve to a major league-best 24-8 since June 1. The Astros had won 13 straight series before being swept at home by the struggling Guardians.
“It’s a long season and I am going to focus on the positive, which is we had a really strong first half,” said Atros’ second-year manager Joe Espada, whose team will start the second half of the season at Seattle on July 18. “These guys have fought really hard. A lot of adversity, a lot of injuries and a lot of people contributing.”
Pitching has been key
Despite some key injuries to the rotation, the Astros’ pitching staff and bullpen have been among the best in baseball through the first half of the season. The staff has been led by Framber Valdez and Brown, who boasted the best ERA (1.88) in baseball coming out of June. The bullpen has been lights out with the second-best ERA in baseball while lefty closer Josh Hader has been money on the mound, posting 21 saves in 21 appearances.
“There is no sicker feeling than losing games late,” general manager Dana Brown said during an interview with MLB.com TV. “We wanted to be able to shut the game down and feel like what we have in Hader, we have a guy who is dedicated to his craft, really good at what he does. He can mix and match his pitches, he really runs that fastball up there to 97, 98, he has a nice crossfire with some deception. He’s been pretty good for us.
“Closing out games is very important. I think it’s demoralizing if you have a lead and you give it up late. He has been outstanding for us, and we are really,
really excited for what he has done for this club.”
Espada says it’s a testament to the organization that the Astros went into the All-Star break with a five-game lead in the AL West despite missing three pitchers in the rotation.
“That’s the kind of team we have,” Espada said after the 5-1 loss to the Rangers at Daikin Park before beginning the four-day All-Star Break. “The organization, we always find ways to add pieces and fight. That’s in our DNA. That’s who we are.”
Hadar and the Astros are coming off an outstanding June, when they posted a Major League-best 19-7 record that helped push them to the top of the AL West. The pitching was key, but they also got timely production at the plate, like shortstop Jeremy Pena, who was having an All-Star caliber season before a rib fracture injury, third baseman Isaac Paredes, center fielder Jake Meyers and rookie right fielder Cam Smith.
The Astros have been productive enough at the plate and have managed to do so without their best hitter, Yordan Alvarez, who has been out with a hand injury since May 2.
As a testament to their production in the first half of the season, the Astros had four players selected to play in the All-Star Game. But as luck would have it, Hader participated in the game in Atlanta. Pena was sidelined with a rib injury, Parades bowed out to deal with a family issue and Brown pitched on the final day before the All-Star Break, which ruled him out of participating.
“It was a great (June) and I’m proud of the position that we are in,” said Espada. “Like I always tell these guys, we’ve got to get ready.”
And ready the Astros have been, even in the face of adversity.
“This team is going to fight you for 27 outs,” Espada said.
It’s been a matter of pride and wanting to prove the naysayers wrong.
“We’re playing great baseball on both sides of the ball,” said Smith, who is having an outstanding rookie season after coming over as a prospect in the Kyle Tucker trade. “Everybody’s doing their job, everybody’s doing what they can do to the best of their ability and letting the game speak for itself.”
The thing is, as well as the Astros are playing right now, they could get better players like Lance McCullers Jr., Pena and Alvarez bounce back from injuries.
“We do our work, we prepare ourselves, we prepare our players and our veterans do their part and they get their guys ready to play,” Espada said. “It’s contagious what happens when you walk in that clubhouse. This is what it takes to win.”
