Listen, the Astros have been underwhelming this year. We all understand that. There are 13 games left in the season and luckily it’s the easiest remaining schedule out of all the teams in the league. Altuve is back. Bregman is back. Brantley is back. McCullers is about to be back and we might just get lucky enough to have Verlander back.
Those are all positive things to look at headed into the final stretch. Jose Altuve is making his return to the lineup against the Arlington Rangers tonight in the two-hole as the offense gets all of their bats back. Altuve had been playing quite well before going to the IL for a while with godforsaken discomfort.
The amount of times I’ve read discomfort this year from Astros reporters is astronomical and wildly frustrating. Us Astros fans finally know what it feels like to be a fan of a team that has a ton of injuries *cough cough New York Yankees*, but the bats are back in the lineup thankfully. Regardless if they have been playing well, Altuve, Bregman and Brantley are all players that are feared by opposing pitchers, and maybe, just maybe, they catch fire during these final 13 games.
The AL West will most definitely be won by the Oakland Athletics this year, but as most of y’all know, the number two spot of the division is an automatic bid to the playoffs where absolutely anything can happen. If the season ended today (thankfully it doesn’t) the Astros would be going to Oakland for a three game series. A lot can happen in these 13 games, and I’m praying that the Astros get whatever team comes out on top of the AL Central.
There is hope for this Astros team despite all of our self loathing and pitiful bullpen, but the bats have been surprisingly good considering all the injuries this year and have potential to be even better by the time the playoffs start.
Astros fans, buckle up, and hold your head up high headed into the final stretch, it’s going to be a wild ride.
