(Music Pun #3, from one of my favorite bands)
The Houston Astros might have the tightest, simplest roster in baseball right now. And they've won 12 games in a row with it. (And counting. I'm writing this the night before, so I don't know how the 13th game went) (UPDATE: dammit Rays!!)
The lineup is just nine guys who are hitting really well right now. The bench is a couple people, like Max Stassi, who are helping the cause. The rotation is four incredibly dominating arms (and Dallas Keuchel). The bullpen is just 4 or 5 guys who are good at holds, and a good enough closer in Ken Giles. It's not much more complex than that. There haven't been a host of injuries or slumps or position uprisings or anything. Only Jake Marisnick has seen any sort of demotion, but that's because he's the only person on the roster hitting below .200.
The guy with the most strikeouts is Carlos Correa, with 70. To put it into perspective, Joey Gallo has 110. Which is 5 more than the number of strikeouts Charlie Morton has EARNED this season. I don't know how much sense that statistic makes, but...there it is anyway.
The Astros have just been scarily good this year, especially coming off of their already-fantasic 2017 season. Once again, the only problem with being the best is that sometimes the biggest guns fall the furthest. And some smaller gun like the Mariners or Indians could knock them off in October if they run with the right momentum. The Astros need to bottle this month, and this momentum, and see if they can stay with how amazing June feels for the rest of this year.
Coming Tonight: Okay, he just got injured, but seeing as I'm piling up several customs of injured Giants players at this point, I'm posting him anyway. I don't care.
They have a few large flat screens in the hall but not too many to make this a sports bar. It's all about the beer at event space NYC. Long lines of taps are behind each bar sporting an impressive array of craft libations.
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