Astros: After A Rough April, May Brings Hope To Team And Fans
By Yoni Pollak
Remember when the Houston Astros were considered World Series favorites by several experts? Those experts were laughed at after a 7-17 April, but now the laughing has subsided.
May has been a different story for this team. A 17-12 May has the Astros rolling. They’ve won four in a row and seven of their last eight games.
The move to put George Springer in the leadoff spot has helped spark the team. He’s been batting first in each of their last eight games and the numbers are there for the former first round pick. Springer is hitting .457 with three home runs and three doubles in those eight games, consistently coming up with big hits over the time.
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But it’s not only Springer who’s been big this month. Guys like Luis Valbuena and Jason Castro, blackholes in the bottom of the lineup in April, have been much better in May. Valbuena hit .259 with six bombs this month. Castro hit .268 with four homers of his own.
The pitching has improved this month, from the rotation all the way to the pen. While Dallas Keuchel continues to try and figure out his struggles, guys like Doug Fister, Mike Fiers and Collin McHugh has given the Astros many quality starts.
Former starters Scott Feldman, Chris Devenski and Michael Feliz have been outstanding in the pen. Will Harris didn’t allow a single run in 12.2 innings this month, while Tony Sipp and Pat Neshek only allowed two runs each in 20 combined innings.
Evan Gattis’ starts behind the plate have been better than expected, and his ability to catch gives the Astros much needed roster flexibility. Tony Kemp has been a nice spark at the bottom of the lineup and Jake Marisnick appears to have figured things out. Carlos Gomez returned from the DL yesterday, giving the Astros several options in the outfield.
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The team as a whole has been playing better. Sure, Carlos Correa slumped for the better part of the month and even Jose Altuve went cold for a week, but the attitude around the team looks much happier.
The Astros start June just five games under .500, and if they can move themselves to .500 or better by the end of the month, they’ll be in the thick of things as we head towards the All-Star break and trade deadline.
Baseball is fun again! Enjoy it, Houston!
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