HOUSTON – Many people see the Houston Astros as the favorite in the AL West and a legitimate World Series contender — and the Mariners can vouch for their strength after two games.
It’s getting harder to remember that just four years ago, the Astros were the doormats of baseball, the first team to land the No. 1 overall draft pick three years in a row. You do that by having the worst record in baseball, of course, and the Astros strategically dismantled — or sabotaged, some would say — their team in order to lose 106, 107 and 111 games from 2011 to 2013.