Houston Astros Back in First Place After Closed Door Meeting

Before getting swept at home by the New York Yankees over the weekend, the Houston Astros had a stretch where they rattled off five straight wins.

It's one of the reasons why their performance at home was so shocking. The bats were quiet after a stint of explosive offensive performances and the pitching completely fell apart from every angle.

Being swept by the last place Yankees prompted the veterans to hold a team meeting.

"After (Sunday's) game, the veterans stood up and talked and said how bad series are going to happen, but there’s baseball to play and to stay positive every series, every game," rookie catcher Yainer Diaz told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.

The meeting seemed to work as the Astros responded to their disappointing weekend with a smashing 13-6 victory over their division rival Texas Rangers. This victory also ensured a season series win over the Rangers for the seventh year in a row.

"Obviously, we needed a game like this and a win, because we’re coming from home and got swept by the Yankees," Jose Altuve said to McTaggart.

Houston is now tied for the lead in the AL West with the Seattle Mariners who have lost two games in a row entering Tuesday. The Mariners would be the division winners if the teams end up tied because they hold the tiebreaker over the Astros.

Star third baseman Alex Bregman was impressed with how the team responded after the meeting, saying, "I thought it was a good way to start the series. I thought the guys showed up ready to compete today. They had every excuse to not show up ready to go with the late travel day. Guys showed a lot of energy, a lot of hard work prior to the game and a lot of guts to go down early and come back."

Whether the momentum gained from Monday's game can be sustained will be tested Tuesday night as ace Framber Valdez is looking for his first win against Texas this season.