From woeful to World Series in just four years

Just four years ago, the Houston Astros weren’t just bad, they were embarrassing — so embarrassing that many dubbed them the “Lastros.”

Now Houston is heading to its second World Series in franchise history after beating the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series, winning 4-0 in Game 7 on Saturday, and its time as the league’s laughingstock seems like a distant memory.

“You always picture yourself in the World Series, but to be here after my debut in 2012 with the team that we had, with the players that we had, I never thought we would be here,” lefthander Dallas Keuchel said.

Keuchel is one of just four Astros who remain from a 2013 team that hit rock bottom by losing a franchiserecord 111 games in its first year in the AL. All-star second baseman Jose Altuve, super-utility man Marwin Gonzalez and right-hander Brad Peacock are the other holdovers from the lean times.

“When I got here, no one talked about winning,” said manager A.J. Hinch. The Astros began to slowly improve in 2014 and ended their 100-loss streak by going 70-92 in the last season under manager Bo Porter. Expectations were high entering the 2016 season, but a 7-17 start, numerous injuries left them just short of reaching the playoffs. and determined to bounce back this year. They did just that, opening this season 36-16 to race out to such big lead in the AL West that no one had a chance of catching them.

Gonzalez had his finest season, hitting .303 with 23 homers and 90 RBIs. Keuchel went 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA. However, none of their contributions come close to what Altuve did for the team in the regular season and continued to provide as the calendar turned to October. And he may appreciate this more than anybody after playing on those “Lastros” teams.

“I’m coming from a team that lost 100 games in a row three years, three straight years,” he said. “We made the playoffs in 2015, we didn’t make it last year and after last year we were a little uncomfortable because we were watching the playoff games from home and we were like, ‘OK, we’re good enough to be in the playoffs.’ We showed up this year, we did it again, and I’m really happy and excited.”

He’s an MVP front-runner this season after hitting a career-high .346 with 24 homers and 81 RBIs. “He’s the best hitter on the planet,” Correa said.

His performance came as no surprise to anyone who has kept up with the Astros over the past few years. “There’s no doubt that when he has good games, it’s hard to beat the Astros,” Hinch said.

And now he and the Astros will get a chance to prove that starting Tuesday night.