Can Houston Astros Maintain Momentum in Second Half?

The Houston Astros finished the first half on fire, but can they keep it up?

Jul 13, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Yainer Diaz (21) congratulates pitcher Bryan King (74). / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

The All-Star break is officially over, which means it's time for the Houston Astros to turn the page from one of their craziest first halves in recent memory.

Saying they started slowly is an understatement.

Decimated by injuries to their pitching staff before Opening Day, they dropped their first four games, putting themselves in an immediate hole. That hole only got deeper as April progressed, as they lost 19 of its first 26 games and 24 of its first 36.

Then, in early May, something flipped.

The Astros went from ice-cold to red-hot overnight, winning eight of nine to stop the bleeding.

Houston entered June still eight games below .500, but that's when things really got interesting. The Astros went 17-8 in June and 8-5 to start July, entering the All-Star Break with a 50-46 record.

In the span of less than a month, they sliced their deficit in the AL West from 10 games on the morning of June 19 to one game coming out of the All-Star Break.

⚾️The Astros had an emotional 1st half of the season:

🤮March: 0-4 (.000)
🤒April: 10-15 (.400)
🫤May: 15-14 (.517)
🥵June: 17-8 (.680)
🫨July: 8-5 (.615)

🔄3 turnarounds:
💪Alex Bregman
⛽️Hunter Brown
👍1st base

😅Take the wild ride with me!
👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/EgGQZiBtpD

— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) July 17, 2024

With a three-game road series against the Seattle Mariners this weekend, Houston has a chance to take control of the division for the first time all season. Since June 1, the Astros are tied with the New York Mets for the best record in baseball (25-13).

The question now is this: can they keep it up?

There's no reason to think they can't. The main reasons for Houston's struggles early on were injuries and underperformance from star players.

For the most part, those issues have been solved.

On the injury front, the Astros have a fully functioning rotation again. Justin Verlander and Kyle Tucker are still sidelined but should be back relatively soon. In the meantime, new staff ace Ronel Blanco has shown no signs of slowing down and should be able to keep up his Verlander impression for at least a little longer.

As for the early struggles of several star players, those are now a distant memory.

Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez have returned to form at the plate, picking up the slack in Tucker's absence. Jon Singleton is providing quality at-bats at first base (which is more than Jose Abreu could say), while Josh Hader is pitching like an All-Star again.

Getting Tucker and Verlander back will be huge for Houston, and the front office is now positioned to add at the trade deadline. With the Astros firing on all cylinders and poised to get reinforcements soon, they appear poised to overtake the Mariners in the second half and win a relatively weak AL West.

Based on Houston's recent track record, history says the first month of the season was the fluke, not the last two and a half.