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Astros Continue Slump Despite Star Shortstop’s Return

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The Houston Astros and their fans were expecting a turnaround in performance after the trade deadline a couple of weeks back. That has not been the case so far. Carlos Correa came back to Houston in a great trade win for the Astros, and there was so much excitement in the air from the team and the fans. However, the turnaround in wins has not happened. Instead, the team has gone into a slump.

Astros Continue Slump Despite Star Shortstop’s Return 

More on the recent Astros slump

The Astros have a -38 run differential over the last six games, the 2nd worst in franchise history. Houston is 2-4 during this stretch and dropped a series at home to a below-average Orioles team. They lost 12-0 and 7-0 in that set. The Astros also lost 14-1 to the Red Sox last Tuesday. Opponents shut them out on Sunday and Monday, outscoring them 22-0. Two wins with that run differential show how wildly their performance swings from game to game. This marks the first time in more than 20 years that the Astros have suffered three shutouts in a four-game span. That last happened in 2005 when they went to the World Series. 

Chas McCormick, not as a hitter, but as a pitcher, has been the only fun part for Astros fans. How about McCormick being a two-way player, with a lower ERA, and having hit the same number of home runs as Shohei Ohtani? 

Houston should be feeling lucky that the Seattle Mariners are also losing and not taking advantage of this very poor stretch of play as the Astros are still 1.5 games ahead in the AL West division race. 

How Correa’s stint has gone so far

When Carlos Correa played his first series this season in a Houston uniform, the Astros ended up getting swept by the Red Sox. They won three straight series following that: 2-1 over the Marlins, Yankees, and Red Sox at home. 

After the long road trip, the Astros had arguably their most memorable home game of the season. Correa made his highly anticipated return to Daikin Park in an Astros uniform. Alex Bregman also returned to Houston for the first time wearing a Red Sox uniform. A sold-out Monday night crowd packed the ballpark and watched Houston win a 7-6 thriller. There have been the highs, but very low lows. 

 

 

All that positive momentum has completely changed over the past weekend. With Correa back, the Astros’ overall record now sits at 7-9. The three-time All-Star hit really well during his first nine games back with the team and put up a .405 AVG and 1.098 OPS with 15 hits. Even then, the team’s record was only 4-5. 

Correa has played a great third base and amazing defense, paired up with good hitting. Even Jeremy Peña is back, but the offense has barely scored. The Astros have scored five runs over the past four games with four shutouts. Brandon Young of the Orioles nearly threw a no-hitter and perfect game against Houston before earning his first win of the season. Young has a 1-6 record with a 5.68 ERA in 11 starts. 

What has gone wrong?

The Astros have gotten hits too, but not in big moments. The starting pitching has not helped, but the offense that has all the firepower is going through a big slump. Newly acquired trade deadline piece Jesús Sánchez is in a 0/22 slump in his last eight games. It doesn’t help either. Maybe Isaac Paredes holds the key to the offense. The numbers before and after are quite different.

 

 

Another story of this is the lack of plate discipline. The Astros have a high swing rate, but also a high swing rate out of the zone. It’s the offense that needs to get back to its culture and wake up to help out some of the pitchers who are being put under more pressure. 

Main Photo Credits: Erik Williams-Imagn Images

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