After falling 10 games behind the Seattle Mariners in mid-June, the Houston Astros were clearly struggling. But first-year manager Joe Espada worked hard every day to remind his team that they could still turn things around.
“`We got this,’” he said to the players. “`We are a good team. We’ve just got to go on a hot streak and we’ll turn this around.’”
Then, with champagne around him, Espada reflected on their success. “And we did,” he stated.
The Astros secured their fourth straight AL West title with a 4-3 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night, bouncing back from a rough start to make the playoffs for the eighth year in a row.
“We started off super slow and we had to grind for it all year long,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “And the guys just put their heads down, never stopped believing and kept faith and kept going.”
The Astros are the first team to win the AL West for four consecutive seasons since the Oakland Athletics did so five times in a row from 1971 to 1975.
This marks the first time the Astros have won four straight division titles, following three in a row in two previous periods (1997-99 and 2017-19).
They have now claimed seven AL West championships in eight seasons, with the only miss coming in the shortened 2020 season when Oakland took the title.
Houston started the season with a tough 7-19 record, trailing Seattle by 10 games on June 18. However, they won their next seven games, kicking off a 13-2 stretch that brought their record to 46-42 by July 5.
By mid-August, they moved ahead of the Mariners into first place and continued strong to finish the season 79-53 after that rough stretch.
Despite facing many injuries, the Astros returned to the postseason in Espada’s first year as manager after Dusty Baker retired.
“I never lost hope,” Espada said. “But when it comes to winning, you know how to win and you’ve got the right ingredients to win, you don’t mess that up. You’ve got to protect it and that’s what we’ve done.”
Houston’s pitching rotation faced major injuries early in the season. José Urquidy and Cristian Javier both had Tommy John surgery in June, and Framber Valdez missed most of April due to elbow issues.
These injuries led the Astros to bring in Ronel Blanco and rookie Spencer Arrighetti into the rotation. Blanco threw a no-hitter in his first game and is now second on the team with 12 wins and a 2.88 ERA.
Arrighetti has made 28 starts and was named AL rookie of the month for August after finishing with a 3-2 record and a 1.95 ERA.
Hunter Brown, in his second season in the MLB, had an 11-9 record with a 3.49 ERA, helping stabilize the rotation during a year when three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander only made 16 starts because of injuries.
“The young starters that stepped up, Hunter, Spencer, Ronel — those three guys right there — we for sure wouldn’t be here without them,” Verlander said. “You have a role to fill and lo and behold, somebody steps up and does a great job and that’s why we’re here.”
However, the team’s issues were not only about pitching. Houston struggled to find a replacement at first base after releasing veteran José Abreu, who had $30.8 million left on his contract after batting just .124 through June 13.
The team also missed Kyle Tucker for almost three months after the All-Star right fielder fractured his right shin on a foul ball on June 3.
Despite these challenges, the Astros managed to overcome the setbacks and make it back to the playoffs again, aiming for their third World Series title after winning in 2017 and 2022.
“This is awesome,” Tucker said. “This is what you play for, get to the postseason and have a chance at a World Series. Every year is special.
You never know when you’re going to have this opportunity again or if at all. So you just try and cherish the moment and keep working hard.”
Houston has reached seven straight AL Championship Series and won two other pennants during this time, though they lost World Series matchups to Washington in 2019 and Atlanta in 2021.
