“You should never underestimate the power of the dark side Astros” – Darth Vader, if he were an Astros fan
Like Emperor Palpatine rising from the dead, the true evil empire is back. Your favorite trash-can-banging, American League dominating, MLB boogeyman, the Astros are back, baby!
The Astros Are Officially Back
Not even the spirit of Grimace could stop the Astros as they beat the Mets on Sunday, putting themselves over .500 for the first time this season. After beating the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, the Astros sit a season-high two games over .500.
Some may have thought the Astros season was dead and buried. To paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated.
Average is the New Great
Usually, when a team is hovering around .500 there isn’t a great deal to celebrate. However, considering that this team was at one point 11 games under .500 and deeply buried in the standings, it feels like the champagne should be put on ice. As recently as June 18th, the Astros were 10 games behind in the AL West, and now as of July 1st, they are only three games back with all the momentum in the world.
So what’s behind this recent surge? Are they channeling the 2005 Astros who battled back from an eerily similar slow start? Is it that some of their injured players may be coming back from injury sooner rather than later? Or could we point to how some players have stepped up at first base and all over the field after they decided to cut bait with José Abreu?
All Systems Go For The Astros
The Astros are on a 13-2 run since releasing Abreu and firing on all cylinders. Utilityman Mauricio Dubón has gotten more playing time and rewarded the Astros’ faith, slashing .289/.311/.714 while playing Gold-Glove caliber defense. Jose Altuve continues to hit at a legendary pace, Alex Bregman has hit much better, and some younger players have been contributing up and down the lineup. The Force is strong with them.
Send Altuve to the ASG.#VoteAltuve ⭐️ https://t.co/UTDeXYLgwL pic.twitter.com/Ez1NGC1NQx
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 30, 2024
Meanwhile, the pitching staff has improved after a rough start to the season. Hunter Brown has thrown eight straight quality starts, lowering his ERA from 6.18 to 4.07 in that span. Ronel Blanco continues to be a breakout star for the Astros and is primed to make his first All-Star team. After a catastrophic start to the season, the back end of the bullpen has also started to show why it was projected to be one of the best in baseball. Josh Hader has only given up six hits in his last nine innings of work. Ryan Pressly has only given up three hits and no runs in the same span. Before the Mets game, Bryan Abreu had only given up one hit and no runs in his past eight innings.
The pitchers have proved that when it comes to pitching well, there is no try, there is only do.
All of this has resulted in the Astros going 17-8 for the best record in baseball for the month of June. After a start to the season in which nothing was going right, the Astros seem to be firing on all cylinders. Cue the Imperial March Theme.
More Help May Be On The Way
It shouldn’t be forgotten that the Astros have been doing all this with perhaps their best player on the IL. They also got good news that two of their pitchers are making their way back to the mound. Additionally, Justin Verlander just started throwing again and could return soon.
If the Astros can get healthy, they could power their way to an eighth straight ALCS appearance. If so, the Astros will prove that if you strike them down, they will emerge more powerful than you could ever imagine. Would baseball be as interesting without the villains? I doubt it. To those who doubt the Astros, I find your lack of faith disturbing.
Photo Credit: © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
