Houston Astros' Biggest Playoff Strength Lurking in Pitching Staff

The Houston Astros have solid control of the American League West, five games ahead of the Seattle Mariners entering Sunday's action.

Houston has split the first two games of its series with the Los Angeles Angels after suffering a 9-1 blowout on Saturday night.

Several players on offense are having key seasons and are garnering most of the attention. Jeremy Peña is slashing .324/.380/.482 on the year, finally delivering the breakout campaign that Astros fans have been patiently waiting for.

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Jake Meyers has exploded onto the scene too, going from reliable to depended upon, slashing .307/.368/.406 with 13 doubles. Isaac Paredes is having a great year, coming over from the Chicago Cubs in the Kyle Tucker deal, slashing .254/.359/.474 with 16 home runs.

The offense has been great. However, ESPN's David Schoenfield believes that Houston's biggest strength is in the bullpen. Specifically, the small cluster of pitchers manager Joe Espada can comfortably put in late, high-leverage situations with full trust.

Josh Hader has been both the leader of the Astros' bullpen and the most discussed person in it since signing with the team in 2024.

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But he has a strong supporting cast that makes the unit one of the most complete in baseball, with guys like Bryan Abreu, Steven Okert, Bryan King, and Bennett Sousa contributing to the unit's great numbers. According to FanGraphs, the bullpen ranks third in ERA and second in WHIP.

"In high-leverage situations, the bullpen has been even better, with the lowest OPS in the majors, holding batters to a .146/.233/.236 line according to TruMedia data," Schoenfield wrote. "That performance has helped the Astros to a 14-7 record in one-run games and a 5-0 mark in extra innings."

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"Is the pen this good? Hader and Abreu have strong track records. That's less true for King, Okert and Sousa -- but nothing in their numbers screams fluke, as they've combined for 109 strikeouts and just 18 walks."

Hader is leading the way as the star closer, posting a 1.62 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP with 18 saves. Abreu has been a great second piece, posting a 1.91 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.

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