The death of the 2023 Astros has been greatly exaggerated.
Playoff dreams, so bright after the game one win Monday, seemed to vanish with last night’s loss.
But this early morning here in Houston, it looks like the Astros are once again in the driver’s seat. At least, a playoff berth is theirs to lose. (Although a tough Arizona team will have something to say about that this weekend.)
This was the most important regular season game for the Astros since 2015. And the Astros won.
It did not have an auspicious start.
In the game preview, I stressed that to avoid losing their 11th game in 15 tries, the Astros would need sharp pitching from Framber Valdez, tight defense, sharp baserunning, and clutch hitting.