The Houston Astros got to the finish line at 81-81, and that was enough to win the division and lock up a postseason berth. For the first time since MLB introduced divisions in 1969, a .500 record was good enough to finish first.
Now comes the part that’s giving manager Joe Espada a headache: Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Chicago White Sox, and no announced starter a day before it begins.
Espada said Monday, Sept. 28, that he doesn’t know which pitcher will take the ball. The Astros are planning to use a bullpen game, which means even if they had settled on someone, that arm probably wouldn’t be asked to go deep.
It’s not the kind of setup teams love to lean on in the first game of a playoff series, but Houston doesn’t have many clean options. Peter Lambert and five relievers combined to shut out the Athletics on Sunday in West Sacramento. Hayden Wesneski is unavailable after working seven innings Saturday against the A’s, and Ronel Blanco threw 30 pitches in relief of Wesneski.
Hunter Brown also comes into the series with his workload in play after throwing 100 pitches over 5.1 innings in Friday’s opener. Between Brown, Wesneski and Ethan Pecko, who pitched Sunday, the Astros have nine pitchers whose availability is at least somewhat limited for Game 1.
Those three were Houston’s most dependable starters in September, and Espada needed all of them just to get through the final weekend and clinch the division. Cristian Javier was also a key part of that September run, and he would have been the easy answer for Game 1 if not for the right groin strain he suffered on Sept. 22.
Once Javier got hurt, Espada was going to have to get creative if the Astros reached October. The surprise is that the improvisation is needed this quickly, before September is even over.
In Other News...
Astros Just Created A Bullpen Decision Worth Watching
Jason Alexanders stay in the majors has hit a familiar September snag, with the Astros designating him for assignment and then getting him through waivers and onto the Triple-A roster. It keeps him in the organization for now, but it also puts him in a spot plenty of veterans know well this time of year: close enough to help, but not quite on the playoff track unless circumstances open the door.
The real question is what comes next. Alexander can turn down the outright assignment and test free agency, or stay put as a depth piece while Houston sorts through its bullpen options for October. If he remains in the system, he would still be on track for minor league free agency after the postseason, leaving the Astros with a short window to see whether he fits into their plans. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Draw The Playoff Test Fans Were Hoping To Avoid
The playoff bracket finally gave Houston a familiar kind of October test, and it starts with a White Sox club that has already shown it can handle the Astros over the course of a regular season. Chicago locked up a postseason berth and now heads into a best-of-three Wild Card series beginning Sept. 29, with Houston taking the series as division champs and holding home-field advantage.
For the Astros, that setup adds a little extra edge to a matchup that already carries plenty of interest. The White Sox won the regular-season series between the two teams, so Houston gets the benefit of staying at home, but not the comfort of facing an opponent it has already handled this year. In a short series, history only matters so much, and both sides will spend the next few days shaping their plans for a matchup that could turn quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Enter October With One Debate Fans Cannot Ignore
A long, uneven regular season left Houston in unusual territory as October arrives, with the Astros carrying the worst record of any full 162-game team to reach the postseason. It is the kind of profile that invites immediate second-guessing, especially for a club that has spent so much of the past decade expecting to be measured by deeper October runs than simply getting in.
Still, the bracket offers a reminder that records only tell part of the story, and Houston did finish the season with a strong mark against AL playoff teams. The early path starts with the Chicago White Sox and could bring the Cleveland Guardians next, with the Boston Red Sox lurking as a possible ALCS matchup, so the real question is whether this version of the Astros is more likely to fit the cautionary history attached to similar teams or to write a different kind of ending. [Read more 🡒]