Astros Sluggers Can't Make Up For Poor Pitching

It's not officially panic time yet for the Houston Astros, but with their lead in the AL West down to a half game, it certainly looks like it's going to be a sweaty finish to the regular season.

With losses to the Baltimore Orioles in the first two games of their home series, the Astros have officially lost three series in a row.

Here's the good news, the sluggers have started to hit again.

In the 9-5 loss on Tuesday, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman both hit home runs. Those two had been struggling in recent weeks, going uncharacteristically cold down the final stretch of the year.

When their bats eventually wake up for good, the lineup becomes as scary as it's ever been for opposing pitchers.

The bad news is the pitching staff continues to struggle.

Houston's starters continue to give up multiple runs and put their offense in a massive hole to try and overcome.

They haven't been able to against the AL's best team Orioles.

Since Aug. 1, the starter's ERA rank 21st in the MLB with a 4.94 ERA.

Much of that has to do with the reliance of two rookie pitchers J.P. France and Hunter Brown because of injuries to their veterans. The rookies have struggled in the second half of the year.

The bullpen has also been an issue this season.

After finishing with the lowest ERA in the MLB last year, they are now ranked 10th with an ERA of 3.77.

The shutdown relief staff that closed the door on almost every game they entered is now showing major cracks.

"If I knew [why], it wouldn’t be happening. Plus, our pitching guys are spending hours upon hours upon hours to try and figure this out," manager Dusty Baker said after the game.

They better figure out what's going on fast or else, with 10 games left, they might not win the AL West, something extremely important for their repeat chances.