Most wins 51 Astros 50 Dbacks 47 Padres 46 Orioles 46 Brewers 46 Guardians 45 Cardinals 45 Yankees 45 Twins 44 Giants 44 Dodgers 43 Royals 43 Phillies 43 Mets
Reminds me of the 2019 Nationals (19-31 start) or the 2021 Braves (17-20 start and not above .500 until Aug 6). I'll take the end result.
Shows a lot of perseverance by that locker room and the players in it. God knows what their records would be with better health and if they had gotten a starter and bat in the winter. Regardless - I am optimistic that Espada is learning to stay out of the way and to stop thinking he is Tony LaRussa in the dugout making mastermind moves.
and the days off in the middle of the rough part . . . minimal to non existent. 4 days off the rest of the way. not good.
From all the sites I see, remaining SOS is pretty much average. 50% opponents winning %, roughly middle of pack opponent average ranking, etc. Mariners very slightly easier, but that is mainly due to them playing the Rangers who are probably better than their current record indicates. seems like a toss up to me, with the Astros returning players giving them an advantage.
History has shown there's no real rhyme or reason to 1 run games, there's just random outliers. If we had a .500 record in one run games we would have 51 losses and be right in the hunt for best record in baseball, and that's with all the injuries and the Abreu disaster. We have literally the best ERA in baseball over this stretch at 3.42 (4th best xFIP so no big fluke), second best is Seattle at 3.56. We've talked about them, but the pitching coaches have done an astounding job this season with a ton of young pitchers and journeymen.
For 2-3 years back all the way leading up to late last season, I thought 2024 could be Houston’s most talented team ever. My expectations were ever so slightly tempered last season when Jose Abreu was so bad, but going into the offseason I still expected a dominant, 100+ win team. Then pitching injuries started mounting, pitcher recoveries started getting delayed, and Houston had horrendous luck in April. I was genuinely worried that the whole thing had fallen apart. It’s been exciting to see them get back on track especially considering they’ve done it without Tucker and Verlander. The pitching staff has been so so good.
A lot of folks were ready to write off the Astros early, understandably. In addition to injuries, they were just flat out playing very poorly, especially the pitching, though offense and pitching like to switch from game to game. I ironically watched more Astros baseball in the early season because I couldn't believe they were really that bad, and wanted to confirm the run was over. My reward was getting to watch the huge turn around. Can't say where the season will end up, but I appreciate the ride to this point.
Without so many injuries and better managing in close games this is a 100 win team. I've got faith in them the rest of the season. Hopefully Tucker will make it back soon. They really miss him.
After the trade deadline I was certain this team would fall (thought 9-14). Didn't pay attention to the standings or games for 2 weeks. Look today and surprised to see they went 8-3 (6 in a row) and Kikuchi has 2 solid outings.
People said that about August. So far so good. It’s never been about the Astros schedule but rather the Astros. Remember the year we were a 100 win team pace against only playoff teams? we’ve got 11 in a row with Baltimore- Philly and Kansas City (first 2 on the road). They should be more worried about playing us than the other way around. I anticipate the last weekend of the season being us burying the Mariners and then heading to Cleveland looking to take their first round bye they thought they had locked up for the last 2 months. I’m still holding my over 92 win ticket in my hand from the beginning of the year. Let’s go crazy and end this season on a 32-12 kick- good for 95 win, a bye, and scare the **** out of all of baseball when we go into the playoffs with this pitching staff: Framber, Brown, JV, kickuchi Hader, Presley, Abreu, blanco, Areighetti, Scott, Garcia, Ort And this lineup Altuve, Yordan, Bregman, Tucker, Diaz, Dezenzo, Caratini, Pena, Meyers. Oh- that team would be something like 84-43 since the aforementioned May 8th. Good luck, ****ers.
I’ll admit I was one that just didn’t see them becoming what they’ve become this season. My business partner is convinced the Astros heard my **** talking and are doing this in response
