Astros: Can the team win 100 games in 2017?

The Astros have a chance to win 100-games this year, but the main focus is on winning 11 games in the playoffs.

The Houston Astros were on pace at one point to win a team record 116 games this year. Losing Carlos Correa and offensive struggles slowed the train down. After winning both of the games in yesterday’s first ever doubleheader at MMP, the Astros have 82 wins in 135 games.

Doing the simple calculations, the Astros are on pace for about 98 wins. Brian McTaggart did the other simple math yesterday by tweeting that the Astros would need to go 18-9. With the way the team played earlier, that doesn’t seem like an impossible notion.

One thing that may get in the Astros way of winning could be resting players for the playoffs. Most notably, the bullpen to be fresh for October. You may also see some minor league lineups at times giving the main guys a break.

Remaining games.

Mets (58-77): One game (home)

Mariners (68-68): Six games (3 home/ 3 away)

Athletics (58-77): Four games (road including doubleheader)

Angels (70-66) Six games (3 home/ 3 away)

White Sox (53-81): Three games (home)

Rangers (67-68): Three games (road)

Red Sox (77-59): Four road games to conclude the regular season.

The toughest talent the Astros will face will be the Red Sox, especially on the road, and the retooled Angels. After surprisingly adding Brandon Phillips and Justin Upton, the Halos offense has more punch. With the whole Harvey situation, the Rangers will look to dominate the Astros at home.

Except for today’s Mets game, if the Astros win two games in each series plus one more, they will reach 100 wins. Even if they struggle a little versus the Red Sox and Angels, they can still beat up on some other teams.

Help’s on the way.

With the arrival of Justin Verlander, plus the returns of Correa and Lance McCullers, it could drive the team. When healthy, the Stros are one of the top teams in baseball.

The goal is not to win 100-games in the regular season, but to win 11 games in the playoffs. To keep ahead of the Indians for home-field advantage, they may need to win 100. It would be nice to win 100 games, but they just need to play H-Town baseball.

Next: Astros: Looking at Justin Verlander’s struggles versus the Indians

If the Dodgers win 110 games this year, it will only be a footnote if they lose in the first round. We will discuss this and more on today’s Talking Stros on SportsTalk 790.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***