Could Dominant Mexico Series Be Turning Point For Houston Astros?
If anyone needed a trip to another country, it was the Houston Astros.
Prior to last weekend's international series in Mexico City, the Astros were a complete mess. They'd just been swept by the Chicago Cubs, had lost eight of their last nine and were off to one of their worst starts ever at 7-19, putting rookie manager Joe Espada firmly on the hot seat. If anyone needed to get away and leave the country for a little while, it was them.
A quick jaunt south of the border proved to be exactly what Houston needed. Following Friday's off day, the Astros demolished the Colorado Rockies during their two-game weekend series, outscoring them 20-6 and earning their first series sweep of the season.
The @Astros make it a #MexicoCitySeries sweep!
— MLB (@MLB) April 28, 2024
(MLB x @TMobile) pic.twitter.com/gQVn6KYhS1
After a month of everything going wrong for Houston, the team finally looked like itself again.
Aided by Mexico City's elevation (over 7,000 feet), the Astros' bats finally woke up. Their 20 runs were their most in back-to-back games this season, and they pounded out 23 hits. The 20 runs were also more than they'd scored in their previous seven games combined (19).
Starting pitching-wise, Houston got two great performances, neither of which involved Justin Verlander. Ronel Blanco continued his hot start with 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball with a season-high eight strikeouts on Saturday, improving to 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA. Framber Valdez followed it up with five innings of two-run ball in his return from the injured list on Sunday.
Even the much-maligned bullpen was effective, allowing just two meaningless runs at the end of Saturday's blowout. The relief corps racked up six strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings on Saturday before closing the door with four scoreless frames on Sunday.
It was a near-flawless weekend of baseball from the Astros, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Houston has been desperately searching for a spark for weeks, and last weekend was a reminder of how good the team can be when everything's clicking.
Granted, the Rockies (now 7-21) are one of the worst teams in baseball, but they're already used to the altitude after playing their home games in Denver. After going 1-5 to start their road trip, the Astros could have easily continued to spiral.
Houston has an off day on Monday to recover before opening up a six-game homestand against the Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners, both of whom are leading their divisions. Hopefully the Astros didn't leave their skills behind in Mexico.
TYLER MAHER
Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.