The Houston Astros return home this weekend to face the New York Yankees in a three-game series starting Friday night. After a rocky start to the season, coming off a win and playing at home could be the boost they need to take on the Yankees.
New York comes in at 14-9 and is playing well. Luis Gil shut out the Boston Red Sox last night over six-plus innings, and Giancarlo Stanton has been swinging a hot bat. Aaron Judge is in the lineup every day doing what Aaron Judge does. This is not a Yankees team Houston can take lightly.
For the Astros, the key is simple pitching and staying out of big innings. The bullpen collapse in Tuesday's loss to Cleveland is a reminder of how quickly games can get away from this team. Against a lineup like New York's, there is no margin for error once the lead slips. After some serious pitching struggles, this is not a time the Astros can be shaky on the mound.
The offense will need to show up, too. Yordan Alvarez has been carrying a lot of the load, and Carlos Correa and Christian Walker have been solid this week. Still, Houston needs more contributors if they are going to compete with one of the better teams and have a dominant batting order.
This is a series that can easily get away from Houston, but when the pitching is on and the offense shows up, this is still a dangerous team. A winning weekend would go a long way toward getting the Astros back on track. A rough one, and the questions only get louder. Will they watch the playoffs from home two years in a row?