HOUSTON – The Houston Astros were 10 games behind the Seattle Mariners in mid-June and were undoubtedly at rock bottom.
But Joe Espada, the new manager, worked every day to remind his team that the end was far from over.
“We did it,” he told the players. “We’re a good team. We just need to get on a roll and we’ll do it.”
Then the champagne-soaked Espada paused for a moment before continuing.
“And we have,” he said.
With a 4-3 win over the Mariners on Tuesday night, the Astros secured their fourth consecutive AL West title, overcoming a terrible start and reaching the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.
“We started super slow and had to fight for it all year,” said third baseman Alex Bregman. “And the guys just kept their heads down, never stopped believing and kept their faith and kept going.”
The Astros are the first team to win the AL West in four consecutive seasons since Oakland won five in a row from 1971 to 1975. It is the first time they have won four consecutive division titles after winning three in a row twice before (1997-99 and 2017-19).
And it’s the seventh AL West title in eight seasons for the Astros. The only time they were beaten in that span was by Oakland during a 2020 season that was shortened to 60 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Houston only managed to go 7-19 and trail Seattle by a season-high 10 games on June 18. But the Astros won their next seven games to start a 13-2 streak that improved them to 46-42 by July 5.
In mid-August, they overtook the Mariners for first place, winning 79-53 to secure their latest division title after that dreadful 26-game stretch.
The Astros overcame numerous injuries and made it to the postseason in their first year under Espada, who was hired as manager for the first time after Dusty Baker resigned.
“I never gave up hope,” Espada said. “But when it comes to winning, you know how to win and you have the right ingredients to win. You can’t screw that up. You have to protect it, and that’s what we did.”
Houston’s rotation was decimated by injuries early on; José Urquidy and Cristian Javier both underwent Tommy John surgery in June and Framber Valdez missed most of April with elbow inflammation.
The injuries forced the Astros to add Ronel Blanco and rookie Spencer Arrighetti to the rotation. Blanco threw a no-hitter in his season debut and is second on the team with 12 wins and a 2.88 ERA. Arrighetti has made 28 starts and was named the AL Rookie of the Month for August after going 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA.
Hunter Brown went 11-9 with a 3.49 ERA in his second MLB season, helping stabilize the rotation in a year in which three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander started just 16 games due to injury.
“The young starters that have stepped up, Hunter, Spencer, Ronel — those three guys there — we definitely wouldn’t be here without them,” Verlander said. “You have to fill a role and lo and behold, someone comes along and does a great job, and that’s why we’re here.”
But the team’s problems weren’t limited to pitching. Houston was left scrambling to find a solution at first base after releasing veteran Jose Abreu, whose contract was still worth $30.8 million after he posted a .124 batting average through June 13. The team was without Kyle Tucker for nearly three months after the All-Star right fielder broke his right tibia on a foul ball on June 3.
But the Astros have found a way to overcome these obstacles and make it to the playoffs again, aiming for their third World Series title after their victories in 2017 and 2022.
“It’s great,” Tucker said. “That’s what you play for, you get to the postseason and you have a chance at the World Series. Every year is special. You never know when you’ll get that opportunity again, or if you’ll even get it. So you just try to enjoy the moment and keep working hard.”
Houston, which reached the AL Championship Series seven times in a row, won two more championships during that span before losing the 2019 World Series games to Washington and 2021 to Atlanta.
