STOP MELTING DOWN
Patrick Creighton: Astros fans should be happy right now
Apr 17, 2018, 5:40 am
George Springer and the rest of the Astros will start hitting soon. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
If I can steal a quote from Aaron Rodgers for all nervous Astros fans right now, it would be this:
R-E-L-A-X
There’s no reason to think they won’t be at their rightful place atop MLB at the end of the season.
I know they’ve lost three straight. It has happened before. It will happen again. It’s no big deal.
I know they aren’t hitting a lick right now. It’s called a team slump. It passes. Consider the lineup. You don’t really expect the whole team to be cold all season, do you?
Realistically, when the team slump ends, a team streak will start. This team can put up eight runs a game when they hit normally. Just wait until they are hot.
George Springer isn’t going to hit .224, Alex Bregman won’t bat .212. Right now Evan Gattis, Marwin Gonzalez, and Derek Fisher are all riding the Interstate, and Yuli Gurriel just came back from wrist surgery.
This team won the World Series last year, O Ye of Little Faith. Have some confidence.
Yes, they’re “only” 10-7. Believe it or not, that’s a good thing.
When you look at great teams of recent history, generally there’s anywhere from 2-4 hot streaks, and the rest of the year they hover around .500.
For example:
1984 Detroit Tigers
The Tigers went 104-58 and won the World Series. They got off to a 35-5 start, and had another 11-1 run later in the year. That means the rest of the season they were 58-52. Close to .500 ball.
1986 New York Mets
The Mets went 108-54, and won the World Series. They had three noted streaks during the year, 18-1, 16-3, and 11-2. Those three hot streaks combined for a 45-6 mark, which means they were 53-48 the rest of the season, or just above .500.
1998 New York Yankees
I chose this team because they not only had an incredible record but because of the fact the Astros lineup is so deep, and that was one of the hallmarks of this Yankees team.
These Yankees went 114-48 and won the World Series. They had four pronounced runs: 25-4, 20-4, 16-2, 15-2, which combined for a 76-12 mark. The rest of the season, the Yanks were 38-36.
Are you sensing the pattern yet?
Here, let’s look at one more team that everyone reading this should be familiar with.
2017 Houston Astros
The reigning, defending, undisputed World Champions finished 101-61 last season. They had four distinguished streaks: 10-2, 14-3, 13-1, 14-3, combining to go 51-9. They went 50-52 in the other games that year. How did it work out? (See the first sentence in this paragraph for a reminder).
Yes, the Astros are scuffling right now, and essentially haven’t been able to hit a beach ball for three weeks. They are still 10-7. They’re playing near .500 ball while they struggle, and then the hot streaks will come.
By the way, have you noticed the revamped rotation? You know, where three starters have ERAs under 1.40? The one that is striking batters out faster than trolls can post on Twitter?
Take a deep breath. R-E-L-A-X. This team will be just fine. The bats are asleep right now, but we all know what happens when you wake a sleeping giant.
Patrick Creighton is the host of “Straight Heat” on SB Nation Radio, which can be heard locally 9p-12a CT on SportsMap 94.1FM. Look for his new show “Late Hits” coming to ESPN 97.5 weeknights 7-9p, debuting April 23rd. Follow him on Twitter: @pcreighton1
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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