Astros Off to Worst Start Since '69

The Houston Astros were on a short list of preseason favorites to represent the American League in the World Series — a safe bet, considering the team has played in the last seven AL Championship Series.

Now, the team is off to a historically bad start, jeopardizing the team's near-dynastic success before the first month of the Major League Baseball season is even complete.

A 3-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday dropped the Astros' record to 7-19. That is the worst 26-game start in franchise history dating to 1969, when a team led by future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan started 6-20. Don't expect the Astros to blast Bryan Adams' "The Summer of '69" at home games anytime soon.

The Astros' latest loss was an atypical result in one regard. Houston has rode the surprising right arm of pitcher Ronel Blanco to a no-hitter in his 2024 debut on April 1. Blanco has stayed hot since then, going 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA in his first four starts.

The rest of Houston's pitching staff has been abysmal. Only two of their other starting pitchers, Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez, had an ERA under 7.00 until Justin Verlander recently returned from the injured list. Javier and Valdez are now on the IL with injuries themselves.

Meanwhile, the Astros' lineup had been mostly cromulent, aside from struggling first baseman Jose Abreu, who was benched Thursday with an atrocious .081 batting average. Houston tumbled five spots in Newsweek's most recent power rankings.

The Astros' postseason odds, above 50 percent all season according to FanGraphs, tumbled to 48 percent on Tuesday.

"I don't think it's easy on anybody," Verlander, who worked 4⅓ scoreless innings Thursday, told the Houston Chronicle after their latest loss. "We've dug ourselves in a hole. You've got to fight. Got to be ready to fight, got to scratch and claw our way out of this, do whatever's necessary."

The Astros mustered only four hits Thursday against an injury-depleted Cubs team. Rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong, a last-minute replacement for injured center fielder Cody Bellinger, hit his first major league home run for Chicago.

Rookie manager Joe Espada figured to feel his share of pressure in Houston after replacing a future Hall of Famer, Dusty Baker. Perhaps it got to him Thursday.

Espada was ejected from a game for the first time in his young career after arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Jansen Visconti:

The Astros will have a rare Friday off-day to mull things over before playing an even more rare game against the Colorado Rockies in Mexico City on Saturday. The Rockies, scarcely expected to win in 2024, have an identical 7-19 record as the Astros.