Houston Astros Accomplish Something for First Time All Year

The Houston Astros have now done something for the first time all season as they get ready for a strong second half push.

Jul 19, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (21) and relief pitcher Josh Hader (71) celebrate defeating the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

During the offseason, there was some expectation the Houston Astros would get aggressive and add pieces to their roster after coming up short in the American League Championship Series, but for a while, finances were used as the reason why they hadn't pursued marquee free agents.

That all changed when they landed superstar closer Josh Hader.

Immediately, the Astros were viewed as the favorites in the American League, and despite some notable departures over the course of the winter, this group still looked poised to make another deep run.

Things did not work out that way for Houston early on, though.

They were swept out of the gates in a four-game home series against their rival New York Yankees and even were in last place at one point during the year. It looked like the front office would have to make a tough decision ahead of the trade deadline if they continued to spiral.

But, the Astros showed their championship mettle and completely turned their season around.

Now, after defeating the Seattle Mariners 3-0 on Friday in their first game back since the All-Star break, they have taken over the lead in the American League West for the first time all year.

The morning of June 19, the @Astros trailed the first-place Mariners by 10 games.

A month later, Houston now leads the AL West by percentage points. pic.twitter.com/RkkTr973O5

— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2024

"I want to start by saying how proud I am of this group. We have clawed our way through a very difficult stretch early in the season and find ourselves tied for first place, and I’m just proud of that group. They never stopped fighting, they never stopped believing, and this is far from over. Just to find ourselves in this position, it feels great," manager Joe Espada said per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Everyone involved should be proud of this moment.

Things were not easy for Houston as they dealt with multiple injuries to star players and had others drastically underperforming, but they didn't panic and trusted things would turnaround for them eventually.

They hold the best record in Major League Baseball since June 1 at 26-13. Their 18-6 record over their last 24 contests have allowed them to chase down the Mariners.

Getting to this point has been a great feat, but ensuring they win another AL West title will be the next goal as they finally are playing like a group with this much talent should.