By fWAR, since June 1, only three teams have received fewer contributions from the pitching staff than the Astros (4.7 wins) entering Saturday: Royals (3.5), Rockies (2.1), and Nationals (2.0). Not a great group, right?
Bad baseball happens. Slumps happen. But, mercy, the Astros have chosen a wretched time not only to slump but to have it happen against two of the worst teams in baseball. The A’s series back in Houston was hard enough to watch, but you hope a quick three-game trip to Kansas City could help right the ship. Alas, the Royals have noticeably outplayed the Astros in the series’ first two games to guarantee that the latter will finish this supposedly easy part of the schedule with a 2-4 record, at best.