The Houston Astros went into the series with the Cubs at 20-31, battling injuries all season and sitting at the bottom of the AL West. The Cubs came into this series at 29-21 and sitting third in the NL Central.
The Astros may have been struggling all season, but their series with the Cubs lined up perfectly with Chicago on a cold streak. The Cubs had dropped series to the Brewers and White Sox, so this was far from an unwinnable series for Houston.
Houston has the ability to completely unravel and fall apart, and the Cubs could have easily taken advantage of that. However, the Astros kicked off the series with Spencer Arrighetti on the mound, and when Arrighetti takes the mound the Astros have a real chance to win. Sure enough, they did. Not only was it a big deal to beat one of the better teams in the league while being one of the worst, but the Astros had not won a game at Wrigley Field since June 22, 2013. Arrighetti helped lead them to a win that broke a 13-year losing streak.
Friday was not Arrighetti's cleanest outing. The cold Chicago weather made it hard to grip the baseball, leading to 4 walks and 2 hit batters. But that is the thing about Arrighetti, he finds a way. He stranded multiple runners, kept the Cubs off the board for all 5 innings he was on the mound, allowed only 2 hits, and struck out 5 batters on 89 pitches.
The question was, was it a one-off, or could they keep winning?
Game two answered that. Kai-Wei Teng was outstanding, throwing 6 scoreless innings and allowing just 2 hits while striking out 6 batters on 89 pitches. The Astros took the game 3-0 and with it the series. Not only did they break a 13-year losing streak at Wrigley but they won two in a row there.
The new question is, are they going for a full sweep?
Sunday is the third and final game, and the Astros have a shot to sweep the Cubs, which would be exactly the momentum they need to start stringing wins together. It has never been a question of talent for the Astros. They have the talent, but they keep getting knocked down. Even their growing injured list could not get in the way of a victory or two at Wrigley Field. After a few huge wins, maybe the stars will align, and the Astros will finally become the team that matches their level of talent.
