Three numbers and Astros start the second half by winning

The Astros start the second half of the season the same way as the first half closed: Scoring runs and winning ball games.

I’m not sure about you, the loyal Astros fan, if you were ready for the week to end. Rest assured, though, I was ready.

The All-Star Game, which is a fun distraction once a year, means regular baseball games are not played for FOUR days. And I was going through baseball withdrawal. Like, actual baseball.

Thank goodness the Astros played last night. I am not sure what would’ve happened if not. Maybe try to a proactive individual? Who knows. But it did so I won’t bore you with the hypotheticals.

61

This baseball game I mentioned from last night was Houston’s 61st victory of the season. Unfortunately, Houston still trails Los Angeles by 0.5 games in the win column. And by Los Angeles I mean the Dodgers, not the Angels. At least the Angels have Mike Trout returning, which is undeniably good for baseball.

Anyway, the Astros bested the Twins of Minnesota to the tune of 10-to-5. While there was a brief moment in time when the Astros apparently forgot how to play baseball, this one was never truly in doubt past the second inning.

8

I mentioned the second inning, which is the inning when the Houston offense did 80% of their total damage. I apologize for this instance of easy math.

But I digress.

The second inning was a fun one to watch if you cheer for the Astros. If you cheer for the Twins, well, I’m quite sorry. For what it’s worth, I still think Jose Berrios will be a very good pitcher soon. Some may argue he is on the cusp. Unfortunately for him, though, he ran into an Astros offense that has the look of a juggernaut.

The final dagger came via Brian McCann’s three-run home run, which drove the Astros run total to eight.

.985

The most glaring omission from the AL All-Star roster may have been Marwin Gonzalez. Not only he is having a career year, he is one of four Astros regulars with an OPS over .970. The other three: Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve and George Springer. They were all AL All-Stars.

Did I say this was a glaring omission?

Anyway, Gonzalez had three hits in five at-bats last night in the eighth spot of the lineup. His batting average is now .314 and he has an OPS of .985. The OPS is higher than both Correa and Altuve.

Next: Astros rumors with a spotlight on Tigers closer Justin Wilson

If you don’t already know yet, there stands a good chance that Gonzalez will be named the team’s MVP at the end of the season. And he deserves it.

**Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs and MLB.com**