This season the Houston Astros lost 7-2 to the Detroit Tigers on August 28. Knowing that Detroit now held a 4-2 advantage, Houston wasn’t hopeful about making it to the playoffs. The Astros had one of the most impressive streaks in the MLB, having played in the postseason for the last 8 consecutive years. 

This has to be one of the most disappointing eliminations of all time. Both teams ended the regular season with identical 87-75 records, so MLB had to refer to their other head-to-head matchups. Unfortunately for Houston, the Tigers owned the advantage. The Tigers advanced to the playoffs and the Astros were left behind. 

So what can Houston do to make sure this won’t happen again next season? Well, they’ve already made a ton of changes. The franchise let go of its hitting coaches Alex Cintrón and Troy Snitker, catching coach Michael Collins, and head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall. 

Cintrón’s contract was not renewed for a couple of reasons- one being the team’s poor overall offensive performance, and the other being that he’s been with the team for eight years, and it seems the front office simply wanted a clean slate. For the same reasons, Snitker was also ditched, as he’s been with the team for even longer at a ten-year tenure. 

Randall, on the other hand, took the blame for the near constant injuries the team suffered, including All-Star designated hitter Yordan Alverez, who was out with a right hand fracture and later an ankle sprain for about 100 games. 

Eight pitchers spent time on the IL, and the team had to rely on seven others to move to a starting position and keep them alive. Four of the eight underwent Tommy John surgeries, keeping them out for the rest of the season, so the Astros had to do some serious shuffling and figure out ideal rotations quickly. 

Lucky for Houston, All-Star Framber Valdez and his understudy Hunter Brown stayed healthy for the most part for the whole season. The Astros relied on them heavily to keep Houston’s head above water. It would be in the franchise’s best interest to look for another veteran to prop the team up, just in case next season has a similar injury record. 

They should also continue to lean on 15-year tenured Astro Jose Altuve for guidance and veteran leadership to help develop the younger players. The same goes for third baseman Alex Bregman, who’s been with the team for ten seasons so far. These two will play a vital part in improving the team’s confidence going into next season- hopefully they can stay uninjured during the offseason. 

That's why the end of that eight-year streak serves more as a wake-up-call than anything else, hence the front office's decision to essentially clean house with the staff. We’ll see if they made the right choice if or when Houston’s offense drastically improves. Teams like the Astros don’t just fizzle out because of a broken streak- all that’s needed is strong offense-focused staff, a new, experienced trainer, and a healthy lineup. Maybe the loss was the perfect excuse for Houston to regroup.