Sep 21, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros center fielder Zachary Cole (16) hits a home run against the Seattle Mariners in the third inning at Daikin Park. Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Offensive Slump Continues as Astros Playoff Hopes Dwindle

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI
By Jeremy Trottier | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Houston Astros are in an extremely interesting position when it comes to their hopes of a Wild Card spot in the MLB postseason. They have fallen quite far behind their division rival, the Seattle Mariners, but they still remain in firm control of the last postseason spot by five games over the Texas Rangers. With six games left in the year, there is still room to miss out on the spot, but a lot would have to go wrong for that to occur.

With such a strong start to their 2025 campaign, the team has rapidly fallen apart in the second half of the year, putting them in contention for Wild Card spots instead of being well ahead for the division lead.

While the pitching staff has had its struggles, the offense has been where the team has truly been missing its stride.

Injuries have played a huge role in this, which has made their production somewhat explainable, but with a postseason run on the line, they need to be able to find some semblance of momentum sooner rather than later.

If they are unable to do so, this could be a pretty quick first series for them, and not in a positive manner.

Where Have the Astros Fallen Short on Offense?

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Since the MLB All-Star break, Houston has not produced on offense whatsoever. As was noted in the post below, the Astros only have 241 runs following the break, and a .378 slugging percentage, both of which are among the bottom five in the league during that span.

In the season’s second half, only four teams have scored less runs than the Astros (241). Just two teams have had a lower slugging percentage than Houston (.378). pic.twitter.com/JVDXUakjVA
— Astros Stats (@astro_numbers) September 22, 2025

For reference, in the first half of the season, Houston posted 418 runs and a .411 slugging percentage, both of which were significantly better than their second-half metrics.

The stats are down across the board too, with 62 home runs compared to 110, .684 OPS compared to .734, 94 doubles compared to 143 and a .240 batting average against a .258.

While the pitching from Framber Valdez and some others has followed suit in this negative trend, ultimately, the offense has been one of the more crucial components to success and failure this season for the Astros.

When they were at their best, they were an offensive juggernaut that was backed by reliable and solid pitching; now they have below-average offense and pitching that has been spotty at best.

Hopefully, as the team continues to get more reps and potentially gets players back from injury, they can proceed to improve over time, but it has to be a pretty quick process as they come up on the postseason.

This article first appeared on Houston Astros on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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