Yordan Alvarez has been a difference-maker for Houston. Composite image by Jack Brame.

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After starting the year 11-11 and finding themselves 3.5 games behind the Angels in the AL West division race, the Astros have since distanced themselves from the rest of their division rivals by rattling off a 24-8 record in their last 32 games. That has them ahead of Los Angeles by 8.5 and sporting MLB's third-best record at 35-19.

The two teams with better records currently? That would be the Yankees (39-15) and the Mets (37-19), whom the Astros will face nine times in a ten-game stretch later this month. While we'll have to wait and see if they remain three of the top teams in terms of record when those games come around, there's no denying that those will be some playoff-caliber matchups.

Yordan keeps mashing after payday

Yordan is just pummeling the baseball.

(MLBStats x @GoogleCloud) pic.twitter.com/hXFN6EtbsA
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) June 5, 2022

The Astros, Yankees, and Mets also share something else in common, they each have a slugger in the top four in home runs in the MLB. Aaron Judge leads the way with 21, while Yordan Alvarez and Pete Alonso are in a three-way tie for second with 16, along with Mookie Betts of the Dodgers.

Alvarez leads the Astros in many offensive categories at the moment, not just homers. With his three-hit game in Sunday's finale win over the Royals in Kansas City, he improved his average to a team-best .295 to go along with the club-best 34 RBI, .391 on-base percentage, and .624 slugging percentage, giving him a top-5 OPS in the league at 1.015.

The performance he's having may land him his first All-Star game appearance and gave the Astros the confidence to lock him up with the recent six-year, $115 million contract extension. If he can continue to provide offense at this level, it will be money well spent for Houston as they try to keep their lineup capable of overpowering any team in the league, even in the playoffs.

Not everything is going well at the plate

Speaking of that lineup, during the offseason, you probably could have predicted that Alvarez would be thriving, but I doubt many would have foreseen some of the struggles Houston is having at the plate. After winning the batting title last year, Yuli Gurriel is struggling to regain his dominance at the plate, hitting just .225 with three homers and 15 RBI on the year.

Despite their saving grace, which has been timely homers, a low strikeout rate, and working walks, they find themselves in the league's bottom half in almost every other key offensive category. One of those includes their average with runners in scoring position, where they currently hover around 20th, something that will need to improve to give them their best shot at another World Series appearance.

Even with a few rough games, Verlander and Houston's pitching continues to deal

This year though, while the lineup has undoubtedly had big games and produced enough to win games, it has continued to be Houston's rotation and pitching staff that have been a pleasant surprise. While a few starters have been roughed up here or there, they still sit second in the league in quality starts at 25, trailing just the Padres with 31.

Until his last two starts, where he allowed six and three earned runs respectively to balloon his ERA up to a still excellent 2.23, Justin Verlander's comeback season was off to a tremendous start. Despite the road bumps, he's still in the top ten in the league in that category, while sitting on top of the chart in WHIP with a terrific 0.80. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he could make his return from Tommy John surgery with a Cy Young campaign in 2022.

Another spectacular outing from Justin Verlander as he took a no-hitter into the 7th, here's what he had to say about the game. #LevelUp pic.twitter.com/NrfiWRE5Kt
— AT&T SportsNet™ | SW (@ATTSportsNetSW) June 1, 2022

Although watching his return has been an obvious highlight, Houston has benefited from having two ace-caliber starters as Framber Valdez has also been doing great on the mound this season. The most evident example of that was in his first complete game in a two-hit, one-run win over the A's in Oakland. Which he followed up with his ninth quality start on Sunday en route to his fifth-straight win, improving him to 6-2, matching Verlander. While Jake Odorizzi and Lance McCullers Jr. navigate their injuries for their returns to the mound, and while Jose Urquidy, Cristian Javier, and Luis Garcia try to fill up the back half, the top of the Astros' rotation is in great hands.

So, when the Astros hit that stretch starting on June 21st, where they go back-and-forth between the Mets and Yankees, it will be a great test of what this team can accomplish when their pitchers meet tough offenses and their lineup digs in the box against stingy pitching.

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Texas hosts Clemson on Dec. 21. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.

For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.

“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”

Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”

Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.

“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”

Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.

“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”

The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.

Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.

Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”

Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.

“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”

Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.

Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.

Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.

“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.

Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.

Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.

“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.