5 reasons the Astros defied the odds and won the AL West

#4: Dominating the Rangers head-to-head

The Astros and Rangers finished with an identical 90-72 record. In years previous, they'd have played Game 163 for the tiebreaker. Now, the tiebreaker is awarded to the winner of the head-to-head season series.

The Astros dominated the Rangers this season, winning nine of the 13 games between the two teams. Texas took the first three-game series between the two in April, but the Astros won seven of the final nine.

The final nail in Texas' coffin came in the September 4-6 series. Houston swept the Rangers, outscoring them 39-10.

Had the season series been even one game closer, Texas takes the division. But the Astros handled business against their little brother, ensuring they controlled their own destiny.

#3: Mauricio Dubón

Where would the Astros be without Mauricio Dubón? Aside from watching the playoffs from home, who knows? Thank you James Click for yet another shrewd move. 

We were down on Dubie coming into the season, and he spent all year proving all of his doubters wrong. 

Any time a team loses a player the caliber of Jose Altuve for two months, it’s a crushing blow. Very, very few players in the game could have done what Dubón did over the first two months, while Houston missed Altuve. As the everyday second basemen, he hit .302 in April and .274 in May. 

Not All-Star level production, but huge in helping alleviate the loss of Altuve. 

While his offense was great, his defense was special. In 79 games at second base, Dubón finished with five DRS. 

We still have some questions about the concept of a “personal center fielder,” but Dubie was great down the stretch, and no one play improved the Astros championship win probability more than Dubie’s three-run blast off Bryce Miller in a must win over Seattle. 

He finishes the 2023 regular season with a .278 average, 10 home runs, a .720 OPS, and 2.7 bWAR. Houston simply isn’t in this position without Mauricio Dubón. 

Reason #2: The Leverage Arms

Hector Neris and Bryan Abreu, take a bow. Anytime Houston had a lead this year, those two made sure it was game over.

Neris finishes the season with a 2.5 bWAR, 1.71 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 10.1 K/9. Anytime Dusty summoned Neris out of the bullpen, whether it was a clean inning or a bases-loaded jam he was inheriting, it felt like Neris was guaranteed to get out of the jam without surrendering any damage.

His exuberance motivates the team, and when he struck out Julio Rodriguez and talked trash in the penultimate series of the year, it felt like that finally woke the team up. What a walk year for Neris.

Bryan Abreu can be summed up in one word: untouchable. He wraps up his 2023 with a 2.5 bWAR as well, a 1.75 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and 12.5 K/9. Abreu hasn't allowed a run since July 15th, an almost unfathomable stretch of 27 straight scoreless appearances.

He finished the second half with a 0.31 ERA. Abreu should be a prime extension candidate this offseason.

Those two especially were dynamite, and Ryan Pressly was again a great closer and Kendall Graveman was fantastic as an Astro. Their bullpen as a whole wasn't as dominant as last season, but the leverage arms are a massive part of why the Astros are division champs.

#1: The Trade Deadline

For the second time in seven seasons, the Astros acquiring Justin Verlander at the trade deadline changed everything. After losing Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. to season ending surgeries, the Astros rotation was in shambles. Cristian Javier was regressing and Hunter Brown and J.P. France were blowing past their previous career high workloads as their performance waned.

In stepped Justin Verlander to save the day.

JV made 11 starts in his second stint as an Astro, finishing 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA. He was especially dominant in his last two starts, both must-win games. In 13 innings of work, Verlander struck out 13 and allowed only five hits and one run. If Houston loses even one of those games, they're out of October.

He may not ever win another Cy Young, but he was elite when it mattered, salvaging a rotation that desperately needed a workhorse and helping keep innings off of an already taxed bullpen.

And while Verlander was obviously a massive get, don't sleep on the acquisition of Kendall Graveman.

Graveman, also in his second stint with Houston, appeared in 23 games, posting a 2.42 ERA. His high walk rate is a little scary, and he may find himself an odd man out in October as Ryne Stanek did last year for the same reason, but he got the job done down the stretch and was huge in helping lessen the workload of a taxed bullpen.

Great work Dana Brown. Your showing at the trade deadline is the main reason the Astros are division champs for the sixth time in seven season.