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2021 Houston Astros season
Major League Baseball season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2021 Houston Astros season was the 60th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas, their 57th as the Astros, ninth in both the American League and American League West, and 22nd at Minute Maid Park.
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Four Astros players gained selection to the 2021 All-Star Game, tied for the second most from any team in baseball. The four were second baseman Jose Altuve, shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder Michael Brantley, and relief pitcher Ryan Pressly, although none of them participated in the game. First baseman Yuli Gurriel won the AL batting title, his first, with a .319 batting average, becoming the second Cuban-born player and second Astro to do so. Correa led AL position players with 7.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
The Astros concluded the regular season with a 95–67 record, while clinching an AL West title for the fourth time in the last five seasons, as well as their sixth playoff berth in seven years. By winning the AL West, Dusty Baker became the first manager in major league history to guide five different clubs to a division title, giving him eight division titles overall.
In the playoffs, the Astros defeated the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS in four games to advance to their fifth straight ALCS. They faced the Boston Red Sox in a rematch of the 2018 ALCS. The Astros won the ALCS in six games to advance to the World Series for the third time in five years. It was the Astros' fourth pennant in franchise history and their third as an AL team. They lost in the World Series to the Atlanta Braves in six games.
Following the season, Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa won their first Gold Glove Awards, and the Astros were named the American League Gold Glove Team. Correa also won his first Platinum Glove Award and his first Fielding Bible Award. An American League (and franchise) record five Astros were named Gold Glove finalists, along with another five as finalists for the Silver Slugger Award. Dusty Baker and Luis García were named finalists for the AL Manager of the Year and AL Rookie of the Year awards, respectively. Baker finished third in voting, and García finished second. This marked the third consecutive season that an Astros player was named a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year Award, following Yordan Alvarez, who won it unanimously in 2019, and Cristian Javier, who finished in third in 2020.
Additionally, Alvarez and Kyle Tucker were both selected for 2021's All-MLB Second Team.
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Offseason
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Summary
The Astros entered the 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) season as having been defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and runner-up for the 2020 AL pennant. The Astros played to a 3–0 deficit to begin the ALCS, won the next three, and were defeated 4–2 in Game 7. The Rays thus avoided joining the 2004 New York Yankees as the only MLB clubs to lose a League Championship Series after mounting a 3–0 lead.[1]
Ace starting pitcher Justin Verlander missed the entire 2021 season recuperating from ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery, also known as Tommy John surgery, which was performed on October 1, 2020. He was in the final year of his contract.[2] On February 27, 2021, the Astros placed the right-hander on the 60-day injured list as he continued to recover from the surgery.[3]
Offseason transactions
Free agent signings
- Signed right-handed pitcher (RHP) Ryne Stanek to a 1-year contract on January 7, 2021[4]
- Signed RHP Pedro Báez to a 2-year contract on January 13, 2021[5]
- Signed catcher (C) Jason Castro to a 2-year contract on January 22, 2021[6]
- Signed RHP Jake Odorizzi to a 2-year contract on March 8, 2021[7]
Free agent departures
- Outfielder (OF) George Springer signed a six-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on January 23, 2021.[8]
- OF Josh Reddick signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 12, 2021.[9]
Pitchers that elected for free agency included Joe Biagini, Chase De Jong, Roberto Osuna, Brad Peacock, Chris Devenski, and Dustin Garneau
Trades and waiver claims
Players that were traded or claimed in the offseason by a different team included Brandon Bailey, Humberto Castellanos, Cionel Pérez, Carlos Sanabria, Cy Sneed, and Jack Mayfield.
Contract extensions
- Signed RHP Lance McCullers Jr. to a five-year contract extension on March 24, 2021[10]
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Regular season
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Summary
April
On April 1, starting pitcher Zack Greinke earned his first career Opening Day win, and 209th win overall, as the Astros defeated the Oakland Athletics, 8–1, at the Oakland Coliseum. He pitched six scoreless innings, the 65th time his career he has produced at least six scoreless innings. Yordan Alvarez, returning from dual knee surgery that cost him nearly all of the 2020 season, drove in three runners, and Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning.[14] Outfielder Chas McCormick made his MLB debut[15] as a defensive replacement for Brantley.[11] It was the Astros' ninth consecutive Opening Day win, a club record, and equalled the modern era (since 1900) major league record for the longest streak, with the Seattle Mariners (2007–15), Cincinnati Reds (1983–91), New York Mets (1975–83) and St. Louis Browns (1937–45).[14]
Ryan Pressly first became Houston's full-time closer in 2021.[16]
Brantley batted .345 in April and .410 in June, remaining at or near the top of the AL batting leaders for much of the season.[17]
Manager Dusty Baker earned his 1,900th career win in the major leagues on April 22 by an 8–2 score versus the Los Angeles Angels.[18] In that game, Cristian Javier became the first Astros pitcher to record the first eight outs of a game by strikeout since Jim Deshaies on September 23, 1986, versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.[19] Over five innings, Javier set a new personal high with nine strikeouts and one walk and no earned runs.[18]
In their first rematch since the 2020 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the Astros defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 9–2, on April 30. Lance McCullers Jr. hurled seven shutout innings, striking out nine. Brantley and Carlos Correa both had four hits and Bregman hit a two-run home run. Four RBI came via Aledmys Díaz' two hits. Brantley, Bregman, Alvarez and Correa produced consecutive hits in the third inning, leading to three of the runs. With this win, Baker reached 1,906 to pass Casey Stengel for 12th all-time.[20]
May
Outfielder Kyle Tucker recorded a breakout season in 2021: from May 1 through the end of the season, he batted .320 and led the AL in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS.[21]
During the May 7 game versus the Toronto Blue Jays, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez drove in the 100th run of his career, doing so in 114 game as part of a 10–4 victory. He was the seventh-fastest player to reach 100 RBI in league history and the fastest to do so since the expansion era started in 1961. The next game, he homered and drove in three more in an 8–4 loss to the Blue Jays for 103 RBI in 115 games.[22]
In the May 25 contest versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, Greinke became the 135th pitcher in major league history to reach 3,000 career innings. Jose Altuve was hitless in four at bats to end a 17-game hitting streak, the longest in the major leagues to that point in the season.[23]
June
On June 4, Zack Greinke threw his first complete game since April 19, 2017, and first as a member of the Astros. He allowed six hits with one run and one walk and three strikeouts in a 13–1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York. Martín Maldonado hit a grand slam, and Carlos Correa homered twice to lead the Astros' 16-hit attack.[24]
In the June 6 contest versus the Blue Jays, infielder Aledmys Díaz suffered a fracture in his left hand on a hit by pitch delivered from Ross Stripling. Díaz was expected to miss six to eight weeks.[25]
On June 15, Jose Altuve hit a walk-off grand slam against the Texas Rangers. The next day, he continued with a lead-off home run against Texas; Altuve is the first player in major league history to have a walk-off grand slam and then a lead-off home run in the following game. The Astros won that game, 8–4, to sweep their in-state rivals and realize their 12th win in their past 16th games.[26] Third baseman Alex Bregman injured his left quadriceps in the first inning of the June 16 game as he attempted to avoid hitting into a double play. Catcher Garrett Stubbs was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his place on the 25-man roster.[27]
Altuve hit his 150th career home run on June 23, served up by Thomas Eshelman of the Baltimore Orioles.[28]
All-Star Game selections
The following Astros players were selected as reserves to play at the 91st All-Star Game, hosted by the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 13, 2021:[29]
- Jose Altuve, second baseman: seventh selection, tied Craig Biggio for most appearances by an Astro[29]
- Michael Brantley, outfielder: had batted .402 with nine doubles, one triple and 16 RBI in a one-month span since returning from injury[29]
- Carlos Correa: shortstop: ranked fifth in AL in OPS (.926) at time of selection[29]
- Ryan Pressly, relief pitcher: second selection. Pressly had not allowed an earned run in 12 consecutive appearances, leading to a 1.54 ERA over 35 innings and a 4–1 record. He was tied for first in save percentage (93.3%), and among relief pitchers in the AL, was third in ERA, fourth in WHIP (0.83) and hed tied for fifth in with 14 saves.[29]
With the four total selections, the Astros tied for second-most selections for 2021.[29]
July
A lingering knee injury dampened Brantley's second-half performance. As of late July, he maintained a batting average of .336.[17]
In an attempt to revamp their bullpen by adding higher-velocity pitchers, the Astros acquired Yimi García from the Miami Marlins on July 28. Up until that trade, García saved 15 games with a 3.47 ERA over 39 total relief appearances in 2021. He struck out 35 in 36+1⁄3 innings. The Astros sent outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and pitcher Austin Pruitt in return.[30]
On July 30, the Astros traded Myles Straw to the Cleveland Indians for reliever Phil Maton and minor league catcher Yainer Díaz. Trading Straw allowed for the Astros to give rookie outfielders Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers more opportunities to play.[31] On July 31, the club selected Meyers' contract from Sugar Land and promoted him to the major league roster.[32]
August
Jake Meyers made his Major League debut on August 1 as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of a 5–3 loss to the San Francisco Giants.[33]
Jake Meyers hit his first career home run on August 14 versus pitcher Jaime Barría of the Los Angeles Angels, and added a grand slam later in the same game as the Astros won, 8–2.[34]
Third baseman Alex Bregman returned from left quadriceps strain on August 25 after missing over two months. He scoring the winning run versus the Kansas City Royals on the day of his return, capping a 6–5, 10-inning score.[35]
September and October
José Siri made his major league debut on September 3 as a pinch runner in the ninth inning versus the San Diego Padres. Jake Meyers promptly hit a single that scored Siri from second base to give Siri his first run as a major leaguer.
Siri made his first start in the majors on September 13, playing left field and facing the Texas Rangers. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs and five runs batted in to power a 15–1 rout at Globe Life Field. He is the first player since the RBI statistic became official in 1920 to have that many RBI along with multiple home runs in their first major league start.[36] Yordan Alvarez added two home runs,[37] including his 30th of the season; at the age of 24, he is the second Astro to hit 30 home runs in a season at that age after Alex Bregman, who hit 31 in 2018.[38]
In the September 17 contest versus the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jose Altuve homered off Madison Bumgarner at Minute Maid Park to collect his 849th career hit in the stadium. The hit tied him with Lance Berkman for most by an Astro in the venue. He then passed Berkman the next night with a double.[39][40]
On September 21, Carlos Correa scored his 100th run on the season to become the first Astros shortstop to score 100 runs in a season.[41]
During the final road trip of the season, twenty-seven members of the team paid homage to veteran pitcher Zack Greinke, known for his leisurely dress style. They wore fishing shirts, short shorts, and bucket hats. Lance McCullers Jr. also brought in a bag of groceries from Whole Foods – as is Greinke's habit to fill his locker – as replenishment for their upcoming flight. Greinke, who is from Florida, wore a bright orange Tampa Bay Buccaneers hat, an oversized fishing shirt, and shorts. Martín Maldonado donned his own bright orange hat. With Greinke posing with his new cadre of imitators, the team posted photos of their amusement on Instagram. The team had chosen to honor the pitcher, in the final year of his contract, after a 7–6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in which had allowed five runs over four innings, raising his ERA on the season to 4.11.[42]
On September 23, Alvarez drove in two runs on a home run in the first inning against Los Angeles Angels to score his 100th RBI of the season. He was the second-youngest Astro to reach 100 RBI in one season, trailing César Cedeño, who did so at the age of 23 in 1974.[43] It was a 9–5 win. Ryan Pressly completed a scoreless ninth in his 60th appearance of the season in this game, concluding the final condition for his contract for 2022 to fully vest. He would earn a guaranteed $10 million. Since being acquired by Houston at the 2018 trade deadline, Pressly had produced a 2.19 ERA, 0.924 WHIP, and saved 42 games in 160+1⁄3 innings. He had converted 25 of 27 save chances on the season.[16]
On September 28, the Astros won 4–3 against the Tampa Bay Rays on consecutive walks with the bases loaded, which was the first time they had done so in team history and only the eighth time in Major League Baseball history since 1931.[44] The Astros clinched the AL West on September 30 with a win over Tampa Bay at Minute Maid Park for their fourth division title in five seasons. It was Houston's tenth division title and 15th postseason entrance. For the first time in franchise history, the Astros gained a postseason berth for the fifth consecutive season. With a combined record of 432–272 (.614) since 2017, Houston had attained the most wins in the major leagues in that span. Manager Dusty Baker secured his eighth division title while becoming the first manager to guide five different clubs to a division title.[a] It was Baker's 11th career postseason appearance.[45]
In the final game of the 2021 regular season, Yuli Gurriel hit a walk-off single to score Jason Castro and defeat the Oakland Athletics.[46] With that hit, his batting average stood at .319 to lead teammate Michael Brantley and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays (both hit .311) for the AL batting championship. At age 37, Gurriel was the sixth-oldest player to win a batting title, the oldest to win their first batting title since Barry Bonds in 2002, and the first Cuban-born player since Tony Oliva in 1971.[b][47] Brantley, continuing to produce through lingering knee pain, saw 39 at bats in September.[17] It was the sixth time in his career he had finished in the top 10 in the AL in batting.[49]
Over the final month of the season, right fielder Kyle Tucker batted .346 with eight home runs, 20 runs scored, 19 RBI, .438 on-base percentage, and .692 slugging percentage for a 1.130 OPS. He was awarded AL Player of the Month for September, his first career monthly award.[50]
Season standings
American League West
Record against opponents
Updated with the results of all games through October 3, 2021.
Game log
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Postseason
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Game log
Postseason rosters
Awards notes
For recognition of their defensive prowess, Rawlings Sporting Goods announced that the Houston Astros were the winners of the 2021 American League (AL) Gold Glove Team Award, the second iteration of the team-wide award, and Houston's first. The Astros led the American League with +78 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), second in MLB to only the St. Louis Cardinals with +86, the winners of the National League Gold Glove Team Award. The Astros also led the AL with +45 outs above average (OAA), second in the major leagues to the Cardinals (+50). Shortstop Carlos Correa won his first career of both the Platinum Glove and Gold Glove Awards, marking the first time an Astros player has won a Platinum Glove. Correa led the AL with +21 DRS in 2021.[72]
Five Astros players were announced on October 25, 2021, as finalists for the Silver Slugger Award, including Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Correa, Yuli Gurriel, and Kyle Tucker.[73] However, all of the five were claimed by players on other teams, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of Toronto at first base, Marcus Semien of Toronto at second base, Xander Bogaerts of Boston at shortstop, Teoscar Hernández, Aaron Judge and Cedric Mullins in the outfield, and Shohei Ohtani at designated hitter.[74]
Starting pitcher Luis García finished second to Randy Arozarena of Tampa Bay in the American League Rooke of the Year balloting, receiving two first-place votes [75]
Manager Dusty Baker was named as a finalist for AL Manager of the Year Award.[76] He finished third, garnering two first-place votes, five for second place, and eight for third place. Kevin Cash of Tampa Bay was the winner.[77]
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Statistics
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Note: Yellow background is team leader in specific category.
Batting
Regular season
Pitching
Note: Pos = Position; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; HBP = Hit by pitch; WHIP = Walks + hits per inning pitched
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Awards and achievements
Major League debuts and awards
| Player—Appeared at position |
Date and opponent |
Ref. [78][79] |
AL batting leaders
AL pitching leaders
AL fielding leaders
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Roster
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Minor league system and first-year player draft
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Teams
In advance of the 2021 season, Major League Baseball took direct control of, and restructured, Minor League Baseball in part with the intent of cost efficiency, and enhancing the experience and compensation for its players and directly managing their development plans. The legacy league names were replaced with generic names depicting their level of play. One significant change for Astros included aligning the Sugar Land Skeeters as their AAA club; the Skeeters were previously members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and unaffiliated with any major league clubs.[102] Sugar Land replaced the Round Rock Express.
Major League Baseball draft
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See also
References
External links
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