Inside the Astros

Houston Astros Reach Major Milestone With Win Over Los Angeles Angels

The Houston Astros are one of the most successful teams in baseball history.

Tyler Maher

Sep 13, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman is greeted after hitting a home run.
Sep 13, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman is greeted after hitting a home run. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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Friday's win was a big one for the Houston Astros.

The Astros took the series opener at Angel Stadium, beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-3. Houston's offense banged out 14 hits, including home runs by Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez.

Meanwhile, Yusei Kikuchi remained undefeated with the Astros since coming over at the trade deadline, earning another win and quality start with seven innings of three-run ball.

The victory was Houston's second in a row, improving the team's record to 79-68 -- 4.5 games ahead of the second-place Seattle Mariners in the AL West.

The win was also a major milestone for the Astros, marking their 5,000th victory in franchise history.

They're the 18th team in MLB history to reach that threshold.

Many of those wins have come recently, as Houston has been one of the best teams in baseball over the past decade. Assuming the Astros hang on to win the division, that will be their seventh division title in the last eight seasons.

They've topped 100 wins four times during that span -- including a franchise record 107 in 2019 -- and haven't had a losing record in a full season since 2014.

The club is in its 63rd season, which means it has averaged roughly 79 wins per year since debuting in 1962. Houston was one of the National League's two expansion teams that year along with the New York Mets.

Thankfully for the Astros (then known as the Colt .45s), they weren't nearly as bad as the Mets and didn't suffer their first 100-loss season until 2011.

Despite periods of success in the early 1980s, late 1990s and early 2000s, Houston didn't win their first World Series until 2017 -- four years after moving to the American League.

The Astros won their second World Series in 2022 and are currently aiming for their third, which would tie the San Francisco Giants for the second-most titles this century behind only the Boston Red Sox.

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Tyler Maher

TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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