Carlos Correa isn’t sugarcoating what just happened to his Astros. After getting swept by the Tigers, Houston’s shortstop delivered some brutally honest assessments about his team’s recent play.
“We got outplayed,” Correa said. “It’s as simple as that. They played better baseball. They played a really good brand of baseball and we didn’t. When you are facing one of the best teams in the league and we don’t show up, that’s going to happen.”
The Tigers do hold the best record in the American League, and they showed exactly why against Houston. Detroit’s offense exploded in games one and three of the series, putting up a combined 17 runs.
Then Tarik Skubal capped things off with a shutout performance in extra innings for the middle game. Complete domination.
The only saving grace? Seattle lost again Wednesday, so the Astros still sit atop the AL West. For now.
Offense Goes Missing
What’s really concerning is Houston’s offensive numbers lately. The Astros have managed just seven runs in their last six games combined. They’re hitting **.168** with only five extra-base hits total during that stretch.
Four shutouts in six games tells the whole story.
Two of those shutouts came against Baltimore – the same team they’re about to face in a four-game set starting Thursday.
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Correa’s description of the offensive struggles hits pretty close to home for anyone who’s played the game:
“We had a really good collective approach, but in baseball there’s some days that you pick up the bat and look at the pitcher and you don’t even know where to put your hands. You don’t even know what the hell you’re doing at the plate. It seems like it’s happening to a lot of us at the same time.”
That’s baseball in August. Sometimes the whole lineup goes cold at once.
Still Leading, But Barely
The Astros maintain a **1.5-game lead** over the Mariners in the AL West, but that cushion feels thin given how they’ve played recently. Houston’s been bailed out by their division rivals struggling just as much.
Correa knows the team needs to snap out of this funk soon:
“We’re in a great spot besides the terrible play in the last week. We’ve got to acknowledge that, and we’ve got to recognize the things we are not doing very well right now in order for us to move forward, be better and be the team we know we can be.”
Manager Joe Espada is taking the long view, reminding everyone that these stretches happen this time of year. “You fight through these tough stretches,” he said after the sweep.
The four-game series in Baltimore starting Thursday gives Houston a chance to right the ship. But they’ll be facing an Orioles team that’s already shut them out twice recently.
Correa’s ready to move on: “I want to flush this series away. I want to start fresh tomorrow and go out there with a positive mind and go out there to win.”
The question is whether the rest of the lineup can find their timing again before this rough patch costs them the division lead.
