Hunter Brown makes Astros History as playoff hopes continue to slip away

The Houston Astros are in free-fall. After 118 days in first place in the AL West vanish, they've seen their claim to the division crown vanish. Now their playoff hopes are next.

Losers of four straight going into Wednesday's matchup against the Athletics, the Astros turned to their ace to stop the bleeding. Instead, Brown didn't have it, surrendering six hits and four runs over five innings. A dominant, fire-breathing ace all season, Brown needed his offense to pick him up. As has often been the case this season, they did not.

Houston would fall by a score of 6-0, making for their fifth straight loss. They sit one game out of the final American League wild card spot. Their only saving grace is that the Detroit Tigers are trying to collapse even harder than they are.

Still, in what was Brown's final start of the regular season, he managed to etch his name in the team history books, further proving just how remarkable his season has been, regardless of the ultimate outcome for the club.

Hunter Brown makes Astros history as the season spirals into the abyss

With his final outing in the books, Brown saw his ERA come in at a stellar 2.43 while hurling 185.1 innings, making him only the sixth pitcher in franchise history to log at least 185 innings with an ERA under 2.45. The last to do it before him was the legendary Roger Clemens, 20 years ago, back in 2005.

In most seasons, a sub-2.50 ERA, 180+ innings, and over 200 strikeouts would be enough to take home the Cy Young. Brown is actually second among American League starters in ERA, third in strikeouts with 206, making him one of just three to top that mark, and seventh in innings pitched.

Unfortunately for him, Tarik Skubal exists and will very likely take home his second consecutive Cy Young trophy. With that said, 2025 has been an incredible year for him and has far exceeded anyone's wildest expectations for the 27-year-old.

Now universally recognized as one of the top aces in the sport, a Cy Young could very well be in Brown's future at some point, but he'd likely be happier knowing that he'd be pitching in the postseason next week.

As much as he's done to keep the battered and bruised Astros afloat, and make no mistake, they'd be nowhere near a playoff berth if it wasn't for his phenomenal performance, he came up short with the season on the line.

That isn't a slight against Brown, but it is the cold, hard reality of the situation. The Astros are still alive, but Brown's start was their best shot to reach Detroit and have a chance at leapfrogging the stunned Tigers.

Looking to the future, Houston can be sure it has an ace for the foreseeable future, but a lot of work will be necessary whenever the curtain falls on their season.

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