With 25 games remaining and postseason baseball on the horizon, the AL West division race is heating up. After an Astros loss today and a Mariners win, Seattle trails Houston by only two games. As a division title sits in the balance, winning the AL West could be the difference in the No.3 seed or the No.6 seed in the American League playoff picture.
In their last 18 innings played, the Astros offense has scored one run. Today’s game saw the Astros get shut out, tallying two hits in a 3-0 loss versus the Angels.
Today’s loss marks their fourth defeat in the last seven contests, all of which have come at the hands of non-playoff teams. Over this stretch of seven games, the Astros offense has totaled 14 runs, a measly average of two runs per game.
Against teams like the Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore Orioles, and the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies, this level of performance simply won’t cut it. To make matters worse, Houston has a remaining strength of schedule 13th toughest in baseball, with remaining series versus the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and MLB-best Toronto Blue Jays. Seattle, meanwhile has a remaining schedule ranked sixth easiest in the league with 16 of their final 25 games against teams with a record below .500.
If Houston’s offensive woes continue, they may find themselves in a difficult Wild Card series on the road against the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees, as opposed to a Division Series matchup with home-field advantage.
