Astros clinch 4th straight AL West title with win over Mariners
Sep 24, 2024, 10:09 pm
Astros defeat the Mariners, 4-3. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
The Houston Astros clinched their fourth straight AL West title with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, overcoming a terrible start to reach the playoffs for an eighth consecutive year.
“That’s our goal every year we get to spring training is to win the division,” new manager Joe Espada said. “That’s where everything starts. And their commitment and their purpose is behind everything we do … and that’s something that we take very seriously here.”
The Astros are the first team to win the AL West in four straight seasons since Oakland won five times in a row from 1971-75. It’s the first time they’ve won four consecutive division titles, after winning three in a row on two previous occasions (1997-99 and 2017-19).
Houston limped out to a 7-19 record and trailed Seattle by a season-high 10 games on June 18. But the Astros won their next seven to start a 13-2 stretch as they improved to 46-42 by July 5.
They moved past the Mariners into first place in mid-August and cruised home to their latest division crown by going 79-53 after that awful 26-game stretch.
The Astros overcame numerous injuries to return to the postseason in their first year under Espada, who was hired as a first-time manager after Dusty Baker’s retirement.
Houston’s rotation was decimated by injuries early, with José Urquidy and Cristian Javier both undergoing Tommy John surgery in June, and Framber Valdez missing most of April with elbow inflammation.
The injuries forced the Astros to insert Ronel Blanco and rookie Spencer Arrighetti into the rotation. Blanco threw a no-hitter in his season debut and is second on the team with 12 wins and a 2.88 ERA. Arrighetti has made 28 starts and was selected AL rookie of the month for August after going 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA.
But their problems weren’t limited to pitching. Houston was left scrambling to find an answer at first base after releasing veteran José Abreu with $30.8 million remaining on his contract after he hit .124 through June 13. The lineup went almost three months without Kyle Tucker after the All-Star right fielder fractured his right shin on a foul ball June 3.
Yet the Astros found a way to overcome those obstacles and get back to the playoffs again, as they aim for a third World Series championship after winning in 2017 and 2022.
Houston, which has reached seven consecutive AL Championship Series, captured two other pennants during that stretch before losing World Series matchups with Washington in 2019 and Atlanta in 2021.
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Trailing 14-0 in the second quarter of Sunday’s rout by the Minnesota Vikings, the Houston Texans were trying desperately to put points on the board before halftime to get back into the game.
The drive was going well, starting with a 19-yard reception by Stefon Diggs and later a 13-yard catch-and-run by Dare Ogunbowale for another first down.
Then facing a manageable third-and-4, the Texans were flagged for a false start. And then another one. And then a third. Finally, a fourth straight penalty — this one for an illegal formation — was declined by the Vikings to force one of three consecutive punts.
Sure, Minnesota played well, but as coach DeMeco Ryans said, “the Texans helped the Vikings a lot” in the 34-7 win.
The Texans had 11 penalties Sunday after committing 12 in Week 2.
“We didn’t do anything to help ourselves,” Ryans said. “Way too many penalties, again. That starts with me. That’s too many penalties. Back-to-back games over 10 penalties is unacceptable. You can’t win that way. When we have something positive going, we negate (it) by the penalties. That just zaps the energy out of everyone.”
Left tackle Laremy Tunsil, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, was the worst offender Sunday, committing a whopping six penalties, including five in the first half. He was called for three false starts and three illegal formation penalties. The nine-year veteran has nine penalties in three games.
“The pre-snap penalties, it’s all self-inflicted, so we have to take ownership of it,” Ryans said. “We all have to man up and be man enough to just do what we’re supposed to do and be where we’re supposed to be and play smart, clean football."
Andre Ware, the 1989 Heisman Trophy winner and longtime Texans’ radio color commentator, was outraged after one of Tunsil’s penalties.
“It’s every week, though!” he yelled on the broadcast. “You’re a Pro Bowl player! There’s no excuse for that! None.”
The penalties weren’t Houston’s only problem. C.J. Stroud threw two interceptions after playing turnover-free football in the team’s first two wins.
“We weren’t executing, weren’t playing hard enough,” Stroud said. “It starts with me. Just got to be better. It’s something that I felt like can be fixed, so it’s nothing to hang our heads down about. But definitely can and will be better.”
What's working
Houston’s pass rush continues to be a strength. The Texans had five sacks Sunday after tying for the second-most sacks in franchise history with seven against the Bears.
What needs help
There’s a lot to choose from after a game like Sunday’s, but the most pressing issue must be eliminating pre-snap penalties.
Stroud said he doesn’t know why they’re struggling so much in that area but vowed to fix the problem.
“There has to be conversation away from the game and just meetings and just seeing what we can do to be better when it’s loud and how intentional we have to be in practice and things like that, just to get those things fixed,” he said. “We’re moving the ball, it’s just you’re kicking yourself out of the red zone and kicking opportunities, and it’s hard to live on third-and-plus-10.”
Stock up
Defensive tackle Tim Settle had a career-high two sacks Sunday after the seven-year veteran had just nine career sacks entering the game.
Stock down
As noted, Tunsil’s penalties were part of a series of miscues that doomed Houston’s offense. Long lauded for his pass protection skills, Tunsil often has struggled with pre-snap penalties, though never to this extent.
Injuries
RB Joe Mixon missed the game with an ankle injury. … RB Dameon Pierce was out for a second straight game against Minnesota with a hamstring injury. … WR Tank Dell looked to have injured his hand or wrist late in the game, but Ryans said he is expected to be fine.
Key number
266 – Stroud had thrown 266 passes without an interception before he was picked off on the team’s first drive on Sunday. It was a streak that dated back to Nov. 19, 2023, a span of nine games, including two in the postseason.
Next steps
The Texans will work to clean up their play and try to get the offense back on track when they return to division play with a visit from the Jaguars on Sunday.