{"id":78644,"date":"2024-07-02T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T12:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=78644"},"modified":"2024-07-02T00:33:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T04:33:15","slug":"the-astros-strike-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/02\/the-astros-strike-back\/","title":{"rendered":"The Astros Strike Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

“You should never underestimate the power of the dark side<\/del> Astros” – Darth Vader, if he were an Astros fan<\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

The Astros Are Officially Back<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Some may have thought the Astros season was dead and buried. To paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated.<\/p>\n

Average is the New Great<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

So what’s behind this recent surge? Are they channeling the 2005 Astros<\/a> who battled back from an eerily similar slow start? Is it that some of their injured players<\/a> may be coming back from injury sooner<\/a> rather than later? Or could we point to how some players have stepped up at first base<\/a> and all over the field after they decided to cut bait<\/a> with Jos\u00e9 Abreu<\/a>?<\/p>\n

All Systems Go For The Astros<\/h3>\n

The Astros are on a 13-2 run since releasing Abreu and firing on all cylinders. Utilityman Mauricio Dub\u00f3n<\/a> has gotten more playing time and rewarded the Astros’ faith, slashing .289\/.311\/.714 while playing Gold-Glove caliber defense. Jose Altuve<\/a> continues to hit at a legendary pace, Alex Bregman<\/a> has hit much better, and some younger players have been contributing up and down the lineup. The Force is strong with them.<\/p>\n

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Send Altuve to the ASG.#VoteAltuve<\/a> \u2b50\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/UTDeXYLgwL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Ez1NGC1NQx<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Houston Astros (@astros) June 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n