The Houston Astros only have a handful of games remaining in the regular season, and they're trying to finish strong so they can control their own destiny in the AL West. They're currently the No. 1 seed, and they have an easy schedule remaining that should give them a good chance of clinching the division.
At the same time, if you've watched the Astros this season, you know they make things hard for themselves, and that's what Chandler Rome of The Athletic recently pointed out about the team's current playoff outlook.
“As we've seen with the Astros this year, they don't like anything easy. Everything is coming kind of difficult to them,” Rome said on Foul Territory TV. “Everything's been hard for them, and they just seem to kind of relish that. They relish, maybe having their backs against the wall a little bit. They relish coming on this road trip, knowing that they probably had to go 4-2 or 5-1 on this road trip to really feel good about their chances.
Article Continues BelowThe Astros seem to relish having their backs against the wall, says @Chandler_Rome. pic.twitter.com/Kgou7zNoF7
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 23, 2026
“And they got off to a great start last night here in Seattle, really with one of their more complete games in a long time, a 7-0 win over the Mariners, but it didn't come, like you mentioned there, Scott, without some a lot of valid injury concerns coming out of that game.”
Staying healthy will also be key for the Astros, as they've struggled with that throughout the season but still managed to find themselves in position to make the playoffs.
If the Astros can continue to handle business as the season comes to an end, they should be at the top of the division. From there, they can catch fire in the playoffs and may be a team that many don't want to face.