Houston Astros: What A Difference A Year Makes

Photo by: Gabe Rodriguez

On May 5, 2015, the Houston Astros were 18-9 and leading the American League West by six games. Exactly one year later they are 10-18 and 6.5 games out of first in the AL West Cellar. What a difference a year makes.

The Astros opened the season with a win against the Yankees and then lost the next three games, losing the series.  From that point on the only highlight of the month came when they took two out of three from the Detroit Tigers on the weekend of April 15-17. But after minor success, they finished the month of April 7-17.

But with the new month, comes promise, as the Astros beat the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, 2-1, and after losing the first game of a three game series to the Minnesota Twins on Monday 6-2, Houston put together two straight wins, defeating the Twins on Tuesday 6-4, and Wednesday 16-4.

The blowout victory was the biggest offensive explosion so far on the young season. The game also saw both Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa both finishing 3 for 5, with three runs scored, a double, homer, and three RBI’s and a triple short of hitting for the cycle. As for Correa, it was his first home run in nearly a month.

The Astros scored early and were only shut out in the sixth and seventh innings. They knocked out Twins starter Phil Hughes (1-5, 5.85) in the second after he gave up six runs on six hits and two walks. The Minnesota bullpen didn’t fare any better as they faced a Astros lineup looking to finally have breakout game.

The ‘Stros have a mountain to climb to get out of the AL West basement, but they have the offense and pitching to do it.  April was a really bad month, but not like they were blown out in games, they just didn’t have the ball bounce their way.

The calendar has changed to a new month and so far so good, they are 3-1 and starting to pound the ball again. The Astros are just one hot streak away from climbing the ladder and erasing their embarrassing start to the season.

More to come from this bunch as the season really gets going. Stay tuned.

David Conde

David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.

David Conde

David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.