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Astros key to winning AL West might depend on five relievers
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- Astros key to winning AL West might depend on five relievers
Astros key to winning AL West might depend on five relievers originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Houston Astros have had quite the roller coaster of a 2026 MLB season, as they've looked like a bona fide trade deadline seller at times and a fringe postseason team at others.
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Now, entering September, the Astros have a lot to play for as they currently sit atop the American League West with a 2.0-game lead over the Texas Rangers and a 6.0 game led over the Seattle Mariners . To win the AL West, they're going to need to finish strong.
To do that, the Astros will need one part of the roster to thrive. As ESPN's David Schoenfield highlighted, the Houston bullpen could wind up being the difference in their bid to make the postseason this year thanks to five key relievers.
Astros' postseason hopes could rely on five key relievers
"The Houston bullpen, or at least the back end of it, might finally be getting hot at the right time," Schoenfield writes. "... If those late-game relievers keep it going, the Astros should hold on and win their eighth AL West title in 10 years."
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The five key relievers Schoenfield pointed out are Josh Hader , AJ Blubaugh , Bryan Abreu , Steven Okert , and Tatsuya Imai .
While Hader, the team's closer, is obviously someone imperative to the Astros' success this season, the other four relievers are a lot more of a question mark for Houston.
But as Schoenfield noted, those four relievers in August combined for a 1.19 ERA. Okert, Imai, Blubaugh, and Abreu were much better than they had been for much of the season.
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Obviously, it's going to be hard for them to repeat that success. But if the Astros top-five relief pitchers could all perform well down the stretch, posting ERA's below 3.00, let alone below 2.00, then the Astros should be able to make the postseason.
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They will, of course, need players like Yordan Alvarez , Jeremy Pena , Hunter Brown , and others to perform well to close out the season if they want to make the postseason.
In what might be Joe Espada's final season as manager of the Astros, with Dana Brown fired after the MLB trade deadline, the Astros might still make the postseason despite the overall mediocre play from Houston this year.
Entering September, they have a 70-68 record, 2.0 games up on the 68-70 Rangers. This is going to be a close race to end the year, but if the bullpen can thrive, Houston will have a significant advantage when it comes to winning the division.
