Division champs, AGAIN
Not one, not two, not three...
On Tuesday night, the Astros clinched their fourth AL West championship in a row. The Astros beat the Mariners in Houston which secured their spot at the top of the division
History making: This was the first time in the Astros history that the team has won four division titles in a row. In regard to full seasons, COVID season doesn’t count, the Astros have won the division 7 times in a row. Here’s something else, no other team has won the AL West four times in a row since the A’s in the 70’s.
Other fun facts, this was the Astros 13th division title, 18th playoff berth and now makes it 8 consecutive season where the Astros have reached the playoffs (team record). Plus, Joe Espada is the third Astros manager in team history to win the division in their first year at the helm.
I wrote about the Astros path to the top a few weeks ago (for paid subscribers) and how historic of a rise it was. Here's what I said:
“When you consider where this team was on June 18th, this has been one of the greatest shifts in team history in regard to a change in the standings. Compare this with the 2005 Astros that finished the season 89-73 as a Wild Card team. They were 11 games back at season end and made it to the World Series.”
The Astros were 10 games back on June 18th, now they could win the division by 5 games. That is a ridiculous jump. That also speaks to the managing by Joe Espada, the turnaround of the pitching and players stepping up.
Kyle Tucker in, Yordan out
The Astros season has been riddled with injuries. On Saturday, Yordan Alvarez awkwardly slid into 2nd and left the game with a hurt knee. Literally every Astros fan gasped when it happened.
Well, news hasn't been very hopeful since then. Both Dana Brown and Joe Espada have been very limited on details and when he could be back. At the moment it's being described as a knee sprain, but who knows how long that could be.
With the Astros history on not being transparent on injuries, such as Kyle Tucker's broken shin (or deep bone bruise as they said), I am not feeling very confident that he'd be back in time.
Losing Yordan for any amount of postseason games would be devastating. Look at the team's stats with and without him this season:
With Yordan:
.264 AVG, .421 SLG, .746 OPS
Without Yordan:
.221 AVG, .371 SLG, .647 OPS
One caveat to this is that the Astros have only had 12 games without Yordan this year, which is a big reason why the offense has been so strong. But even with a small sample size, the offense needs Alvarez.
The only way to counter balance the loss of Yordan is for Altuve, Bregman, Tucker and Diaz to really step it up in the postseason if he misses time.
But speaking of Tucker, he has been exceptional since his return. He is batting .340 with 4 homers, 8 RBI, and an OPS of 1.050 since he has come back from the IL.
Who will the Astros play? Who will be pitching???
First off, stop yelling, I will get to it. At the moment, the Astros are slated to play the Tigers in the AL Wild Card series. Game 1 is set to go on Tuesday, October 1st.
That is the situation as of today, it will come down to the Royals, Tigers or Twins by the end of the season (though there is a 1% chance the Twins will make the postseason). It will most LIKELY be the Royals though, since they have to face Atlanta next.
Right now, Justin Verlander and Ronel Blanco are slated to pitch vs the Guardians on Friday and Saturday. The team hasn’t announced who will pitch Sunday, which should have been Spencer Arrighetti according to schedule, but I assume they will exhaust some minor league pitchers for the last game so that everyone is fresh for game 1.
That leaves Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown ready to go for game 1 and 2. Yusei Kikuchi would be the starter for game 3, if it’s necessary.
Where does Justin Verlander fit in this playoff roster? First off, I think he makes it but he definitely won’t start in the Wild Card, mainly because of scheduling. But how he’s pitched lately, I find it hard to believe he will start a game. (We’ll see how he does tonight)
Speaking of playoffs, go Space Cowboys!
The Space Cowboys won the Pacific Coast League championship on Wednesday. They swept Reno to win the team’s first championship. Watch this amazing catch by Jacob Melton.
The Space Cowboys then go on to face the Omaha Storm Chasers for the AAA Championship series starting on Saturday.
Let’s talk the playoff roster!
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