The Astros won seven games in a row. Two of those games were against the Boston Red Sox, the best team in baseball. They may have swept. I don't know, I'm writing this before the Sunday night game even started.
The point is...even if the Astros aren't flat-out dominating like they were last year, they're still not to be slept on. At all.
For one, the emphasis isn't even on Jose Altuve anymore. It's on Alex Bregman. After a great rookie year last year, he's carrying the team in the absence of the formerly immortal Altuve-Correa-Springer combo, all three of which spent time on the DL this year. He's been a maniac at the plate, a smart defensive player, and the kind of versatile that reminds people of 2017.
Plus, even with the DL stint from Lance McCullers, a new fifth man has emerged in the sturdy, impressive Framber Valdez, who, while not to the caliber of Verlander, Cole, Morton or Keuchel, is still making sure teams can't just rely on the fifth day to attack. The bullpen has also improved, giving the ninth to Hector Rendon with full trust, and still having people like Roberto Osuna, Chris Devenski and Collin McHugh on standby just in case. It might even be a bit more shapely than their 2017 bullpen.
Martin Maldonado is looking more and more like a starting catcher. Tyler White and Tony Kemp have been phenomenal off the bench. This team is looking very strong, and they're approaching a postseason where they'll be second seed, and playing a team that's been on autopilot for the last two months. People should be scared. This team could make it back to the World Series. It's not definite yet, but it could happen.
Coming Tonight: The team they played last November, and their bearded third baseman.
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