Houston Astros Sink to 7-19 Record as Underperforming Players and Pitching Struggles Plague Team

Rewritten article: The Houston Astros suffered another defeat on Thursday afternoon at the hands of the Chicago Cubs, this time by a scoreline of 3-1. While unremarkable in itself, this loss brought the defending American League West champions’ record to an alarming 7-19. That’s right – just over one quarter (27%) of their games have ended in victory with only a few days remaining before the month ends.
So what exactly is happening in Houston? Despite fielding a top-performing lineup led by Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker, who are both enjoying MVP calibre seasons so far this year, other key players haven’t been living up to their usual standards. Yordan Alvarez has been solid as a hitter but below his career average in terms of power output; meanwhile Alex Bregman – with an outstanding slugging percentage during previous years – now appears virtually unable to swing for the fences, producing pitiful results at bat that are reminiscent of those from pitchers rather than established superstars.
The Astros’ once-vaunted starting rotation has also been underwhelming this season. Historically known for maximising performance out of unheralded starters and veteran talent alike in the bullpen, Houston had high hopes that their staff would be one of baseball’s best heading into 2024 – but those expectations have yet to materialise as they currently rank a dismal 27th overall when it comes to pitching performance according to Fangraphs. To make matters worse, star relievers Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader are both struggling; while some bad luck has contributed to the latter’s poor form (8.38 ERA), neither can claim an enviable start this season.
The Astros have dug themselves a deep hole early on in 2024, and if positive regression from their underperforming players fails to manifest soon, we might all find out what it would be like for the team to not win the division they’ve dominated so consistently over recent years. In fact, only two teams that have ever started as poorly as Houston (7-16) have gone on to make the playoffs – and this season is far from assured.
So what could lie ahead in a campaign that’s already off to such an unpromising start? Only time will tell whether the Astros can turn things around, but one thing’s for certain: it won’t be easy.