The Houston Astros were a disaster in their first two years in the American League, with a combined record of 121-203 (including an abysmal 51-111 record in 2013), but they completely turned the corner this season and are heading to the playoffs.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted the Astros clinched a wild-card berth after the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. The victory also sewed up the American League West title for the Rangers.
Jonah Keri of Grantland noted the Astros' success was just a footnote in a strange 2015 campaign:
The Astros celebrated after the game, as shown by Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle:
Hank Conger also had a good time following the game:
This is the first time the Astros have reached the playoffs since 2005, when they lost the World Series to the Chicago White Sox. This is also the first time the team will finish with a winning record since 2008.
Houston had to hang on for dear life after it lost 14 of its first 21 September games. As Jon Morosi of Fox Sports pointed out, the bullpen is to blame for eight of those losses.
That late-season debacle from Houston was head-scratching because it ranked seventh in the league in bullpen ERA entering play Sunday with Luke Gregerson shutting the door. If the Astros plan on making noise in the playoffs in tight, nerve-racking games, they will need the bullpen to perform like it did most of the season.
The bullpen is far from the only reason the Astros made the playoffs, though.
Dallas Keuchel anchored the rotation as the ace and set career highs in innings pitched (232), wins (20) and strikeouts (216) along with a career-best ERA (2.48) and WHIP (1.02). Keuchel’s 2015 season was his fourth in the league and represented something of a breakout campaign. He made the All-Star team and was dominant at Minute Maid Park, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:
The Astros also traded for Scott Kazmir in July to be a quality secondary option in the rotation. The southpaw has postseason experience on his resume, so he will not likely be intimidated by the marquee October games ahead.
The offense was impressive throughout the season as well, with superstar second baseman Jose Altuve leading the way.
Altuve followed up his incredible 2014 performance—in which he posted a .341 average on the way to the American League batting title—with another All-Star campaign. He is an electrifying base stealer, but he also set career highs in home runs (15) and RBI (66) in 2015. He sets the table for the rest of the order, comes through with critical hits when his team needs a win and covers plenty of ground at second.
Altuve was the engine driving the offense, but Evan Gattis deserves plenty of credit, too, after he posted career highs in home runs (27), RBI (87) and triples (11). He earned praise from his manager in the process, per Richard Justice of MLB.com:
The Astros lineup brings serious punch, and Gattis, Luis Valbuena, Colby Rasmus, Carlos Correa and Chris Carter all reached the 20-homer plateau. If Altuve continues to get on base and this impressive group of sluggers drives him home, Houston will make some noise in the playoffs.
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