We might take a much, much closer look at this in the days and weeks to come, but for now it's worth at least a cursory glance at just what the hell has happened in September and part of October.
In 29 Sept/Oct games, the Astros' pitching staff has racked up a 15-14 record, allowing a 3.54 ERA/1.32 WHIP. That's after a 5.26 ERA/1.42 WHIP in June, 5.95/1.60 in July, and 4.89/1.49 in August.
The offensive side hasn't been so impressive, but the .662 OPS through the last 29 games are the highest for a month since June, when they hit .238/.307/.402, collectively. The Astros are assured that they'll have an OBP under .300 for the second straight month.
However, they have hit 33 homers in Sept/Oct - which will be a season-high for a "month," and the highest since August 2008, when the Astros went off for 45 homers in 30 games. (As an aside, Ty Wigginton hit 12 homers in August 2008, in 26 games. He hit 23 HRs all season.)
In Houston's last six games, they've had more homers (14) than walks (12), hitting .235/.286.480.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
