The Houston Astros are back in the World Series for the third time in five years. In 2017, the Astros captured their first World Series title after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in an epic seven-game series that was one for the ages.
Since then, the Astros have been involved in a Major League Baseball probe that concluded the team was involved in a sign stealing scandal. Because of this, Astro’s manager Aj Hinch was fired and replaced with prominent and seasoned manager Dusty Baker. The Astros would return to the World Series in 2019, under Baker’s tutelage to face the Nationals but were defeated in seven games in 2019.
Even while being booed throughout the 2021 regular season at every road game, the Astros continued their batting dominance in the postseason with a .353 On Base Percentage, .281 Batting Average, .443 Slugging Percentage and 65 Runs Batted In, which are all in the top three in postseason team stats.
People may dig the long ball, but the Astros seem to generate points through small ball that leads to the long ball. Led by a 5-foot 7-inch dynamo in Jose Altuve, this roster is not short of firepower that also includes Carlos Correa, Yuli Gurriel, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker — all of which could homer at a moment’s notice.
Not be outdone, the Astros’ pitching staff has been dialed in as of late with a balance of both young and veteran pitchers. Led by two up and coming pitchers in Luis Garcia and Framber Aldez, along with the wily veteran Zack Greinke, the Astros post a 7-3 postseason win-loss record.
In the 2021 Postseason, the Astros have struck out a total of 93 batters with contributions from Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier both with 13 strikeouts a piece and 12 from Luis Garcia. Due to a Forearm injury, the Astros will be without one of their best pitchers, Lance McCullers Jr. for the series. However, it appears they’ve adopted the cliché “Next Man Up” strategy in which they hope to receive vital production from a combination of players, such as Ryne Stanek, Ryan Pressly, and Kendall Graveman, since this may come down to relief pitching.
With all negative sports news plaguing the city of Houston these past couple of years, from the James Harden trade to the debacle of what’s left of the Texans organization, hopefully the Astros can give the city of Houston something to cheer for while also helping manager Dusty Baker capture that ever-elusive championship ring.
Game 1 of the World Series will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 8 P.M. EST and can be watched on FOX.
