Phillies Phocus: The Houston Astros come to Philly

The Team: Houston Astros

Enter the best team in the American League. The Phillies are starting to play some of their best baseball this season. It is hard to decide if that is good news or tough luck with the Houston Astros coming into town.

The Astros come into play at 65-33 and running away with the AL West. They come into play this week going 4-4 in their last eight. They also come into play with one baseball’s best pitching staffs and offensive attack.

Despite injuries coming into the series, the Astros are still tough to handle. Luckily, the Phils will miss out on Carlos Correa, arguably the the team’s best players. They will also miss any starts by Dallas Keuchel.

The Astros still lead baseball in runs scored with 581 to this point. There are weapons throughout their lineup with George Springer, Alex Bregman, and veterans such as Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran. The .858 OPS as a team is also the best in the game. It is 41 points higher than the Washington Nationals who sit in second.

Did I forget to mention they strike out less than any other team in baseball? They do. The Astros are one of two teams who has struck out less than 700 times as an entire roster.

And power? They have it. Houston is baseball’s homerun leading team, powering 163 balls out of the park this season.

On the mound, they have been just as dominant. They rank in the top ten as a team in ERA, strikeouts (first in baseball with 995), and batting average against. The Phillies are a team that tends to strikeout in opportune spots, so the Astros could be walking into a feast the next three games.