Welcome to the Houston Astros Week in Review. We will look back from the previous week to see how the Astros did from Monday to Sunday since this is how MLB has set its schedule.
Let’s take a look at how the Astros faired last week:
Overall Team
- Record: 4-3 – 0-0 at home, 4-3 on the road.
- Current Season Record Projection: 89-73, .560 (1st Place)
- Current Division Chances: 51.4%
- Current Playoff Chances: 80.2%
Recap:
After a rough first homestand of the season, the Astros hit the road for a six-game road trip starting first in Arlington against the Texas Rangers. The offense was quiet as the Astros dropped game one. The Astros would win three in a row and take the series after a great outing by Jake Odorizzi in game two.
The Astros headed north of the border to face the Toronto Blue Jays, finishing the week. The offense came alive in game one on Friday night as the Astros racked up 11 runs on 14 hits. Alex Bregman, Jeremy Peña, and Yordan Alvarez homered in the victory. The bats would go cold the rest of the series as the Astros would drop games two and three in one-run losses. George Springer would be the x-factor for the Blue Jays as he homered twice on Saturday.
Hitting (with MLB Rankings)
- Batting average: .216 (26th)
- On-Base Percentage: .288 (24th)
- Slugging Percentage: .369 (18th)
- OPS: .657 (19th)
- Runs per Game: 3.73 (23rd)
- Batting Average (w/RISP): .214 (tied 26th)
Recap:
We all know that the Astros are one of the better hitting teams in the league. Historically, the Astros have always been slow to start the season. Even though it may not look like it right now, the offensive production will pick up when this team finds its groove.
Starting Pitching (with MLB Rankings)
- Innings Pitched: 41.1 (2nd)
- ERA: 2.83 (7th)
- K/9: 7.40 (12th)
- BB/9: 1.96 (5th)
- Opponent Batting Average: .283 (7th)
Recap:
Starting pitching did much better this week in terms of innings pitched. The starters kept the Astros in games throughout this road trip, and most would agree that the Astros should have won more games, but the offense did not balance out pitching.
Justin Verlander has looked great so far this season. We see a possible MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award Winner in Verlander’s future.
Relief Pitching (with MLB Rankings)
- Innings Pitched: 18.2 (tied 3rd)
- ERA: 4.82 (20th)
- K/9: 9.64 (22nd)
- BB/9: 3.38 (12th)
- Opponent Batting Average: .280 (26th)
Recap:
The bullpen has been great this season. With Ryan Pressly still on the injured list, the Astros have been able to rely on Phil Maton and Hector Neris to come in and keep the Astros in games.
This is the first time I have compiled something like this. Once I become more familiar with the stats, I will add more information to the articles.
Credit to Fangraphs and MLB Research Tool for the data used in this article.
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