Defending Champion Houston Astros Not Panicked Over Rocky Start

It is far too early for the Houston Astros to panic during their attempt to defend their World Series title.

The Astros have played just 16 games, a little less than 10% of their 162-game schedule. It is not a cliché to say there is plenty of time left.

However, the Astros are 7-9 after losing two of three games in a weekend home series in Houston that culminated with a 9-1 drubbing from the Texas Rangers on Sunday night.

“I think obviously we haven’t played very good baseball to this point,” Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said. “We’ve got a lot of things we need to correct.”

The Astros are 12th in the major leagues with an average of 4.81 runs scored. The pitching staff’s 3.48 ERA is sixth in baseball.

Yet the Astros have yet to put everything together so far this season after reaching the World Series for the fourth time in the last six years in 2022, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games for the championship.

“We (have) had a lot of opportunities to bust games open late,” manager Dusty Baker said. “We’re one hit away, one pitch away.”

The Astros thought they were on track after winning two of three games from the Pirates in Pittsburgh last week. However, that remains Houston’s only series win in five tries this season.

The Astros were particularly impressive in the final game of that series whe they rolled to a 7-0 victory.

“We needed a win. We needed to win a series,” Bregman said after that game. “We haven’t been playing our best baseball, but today was a step in the right direction. Overall, today was more of a complete game for our guys from start to finish.”

However, the Astros didn’t follow that up when they returned home to face the in-state rival Texas Rangers.

Over the past two offseasons, the Rangers have spent a lot of money in free agency to build a roster capable of overtaking the Astros as the top team in the American League West. Texas looked the part, at least for one series as they sandwiched 6-2 and 9-1 wins around an 8-2 loss on Saturday.

The Rangers (9-6) hold the early division lead by 1 ½ games over the Seattle Mariners.

The Astros are missing a couple of key players in second baseman Jose Altuve and left fielder Michael Brantley.

Altuve, a three-team AL batting champion and the league MVP in 2017, fractured his right thumb last month when hit by a pitch in the World Baseball Classic while playing for Venezuela. He is expected to be sidelined at least through the end of May.

The Astros are hopeful of getting Brantley back by early May. He has been out all season while recovering from right shoulder surgery.

Starting pitcher Lance McCullers has been sidelined since spring training by a right elbow strain. He is on course to return in mid-May.

Between knowing they have reinforcements on the way and the confidence that comes with six straight trips to the American League Championship Series, the Astros’ faith in themselves is unshaken.

“I think it’s part of it being early in the season,” Bregman said. “Obviously, we haven’t played our best baseball yet. There have been flashes of really good things, but things we need to clean up as well.

“I’m definitely confident in this group coming together and playing really good team baseball going forward.”

The 73-year-old Baker knows the value of patience in baseball, having broken into the major leagues as a player in 1968 with the Atlanta Braves.

“We’ve just got to keep plugging,” Baker said. “That’s all you can do.”