The Houston Astros have not been the same team since Yordan Alvarez suffered an ankle sprain against the Texas Rangers on September 15. Houston has a 1-6 record since he has been out of the lineup.
The Astros have lost five straight games, and they are not in a playoff spot in the American League at the moment. The Seattle Mariners have won the American League West division for the first time since 2001. Houston has an 84-73 record this season. They currently trail the Detroit Tigers by one game for the final wild card spot in the American League.
Houston Astros Slide Down Power Rankings Because of Yordan Alvarez Absence
With Houston struggling down the stretch without Alvarez, it goes to show that his presence in the lineup is missed big time. Many different ESPN writers who cover the MLB ranked the teams in the latest power rankings. The Astros are number 12 and Jesse Rogers said about this team struggling,
"The last week has not been kind to the Astros, especially at the plate, where they ranked near the bottom of the majors in OPS. It included three games at home against Seattle -- all losses -- in which they scored seven total runs. Add just a single tally in their series opener loss against the A's on Tuesday and you can see why Houston is in danger of losing the division or even a postseason berth. The loss -- again -- of Yordan Alvarez obviously hurts. And perhaps the return of Isaac Paredes will give the Astros a boost, though it hasn't yet. They need a hot finish from players such as Carlos Correa and Jeremy Pena to extend their playoff streak to nine years."
If the Astros do miss the playoffs, it would be the first time since 2016. Houston has had a good run from 2017 to 2024. If they do miss the playoffs, this could potentially be a sign of things to come for this organization. Not having Alvarez around has no doubt hurt this team because they miss his bat in the lineup.
They have struggled to score runs. Houston will face the Athletics on Thursday afternoon. They also have to play the Los Angeles Angels for a three-game series this weekend. The Astros need to win most of its games remaining and hope the Tigers continue to lose in order to potentially make the playoffs. Otherwise, it will go to show that the Alvarez injury derailed the season.
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