Houston Astros: Is it time for fans to start panicking yet?

Most Astros fans have been confident all season that the team would easily win the AL West, but after the last two games in LA, some are starting to panic.

The Astros began the year as the clear favorites to not only win the division but to also have a good chance to win it all.  However, after a (2-5) start to the season, Houston wasn’t living up to all the hype.

The Astros went on to win ten games in a row, including a perfect (6-0) homestand, and from there they never looked back. Despite injuries to key players, the team kept winning and have remained a top five-team in the MLB.

With an injury to Brad Peacock and a revolving door of pitchers at the bottom of the rotation, the Astros lead in the West Division is shrinking. The pitching has become so thin, that A.J. Hinch went with an “opener” in the first two games of the Los Angeles Angels series.

Josh James did his job as the opener in Monday night’s game with a scoreless inning to start the game. However, on Tuesday night, Hector Rondon gave up six runs and didn’t even make it out of the first inning.

After Houston’s second straight loss on Tuesday, the fans on social media were venting their frustrations and pleading for the Astros to get some pitching help.

The Astros don’t need to make any moves offensively, but I do believe GM Jeff Luhnow will make a deal before the deadline to add a veteran arm to the rotation. They may also look into adding a bullpen arm, but I am not sure they will do this.

The Astros roster is full of All-Stars, they have a great manager in Hinch, and an excellent front office. There is no reason to panic.